Microsoft's trademark lawsuit against Lindows will continue to trial, possibly later this year, after a federal appeals court denied Microsoft's appeal request. Microsoft was questioning an earlier court decision that found Microsoft's trademark on "Windows" to be potentially invalid because the word is a common term. Microsoft had argued that the term wasn't generic in the computer industry, despite its general use to describe onscreen objects in various graphical systems dating back almost 30 years. And because Microsoft does own a trademark on the term, it had sued Lindows for naming its Linux distribution Lindows, a name that might confuse consumers.
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