Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it is suing a small software company called Lindows, claiming that name infringes the trademark of the software giant's flagship Windows operating system. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington, Microsoft is seeking to force a name change of the Lindows software, which is a version of the Linux operating system capable of running programs made for Windows. "We're not at all asking the court to stop or prevent the company from making the product, we're simply saying it shouldn't use a name that confuses the public and infringes our trademark," Microsoft spokesman Jon Murchinson said. A Lindows spokeswoman said they had not seen the complaint yet and had no immediate comment.

Microsoft said it has spent $1.2 billion over the past 18 years to market and promote Windows, which runs an estimated 90 percent of the world's personal computers, and that Lindows threatened to damage the brand value. "The similarity between the Lindows and Windows marks is likely to lead consumers to mistakenly conclude that the Lindows product was exclusively or jointly developed by, licensed or certified by, or otherwise sponsored or approved by Microsoft," Microsoft said in the complaint. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft hoped to resolve the dispute out of court, Murchinson said.