Following preliminary injunctions granted against it in Finland, Sweden and the Benelux countries, in April Lindows changed the name of its operating system from Lindows to Linspire.
But the strategy failed somewhat when Microsoft then launched another trade mark action, suing the company over its continued use of 'Lindows' as the corporate name.
On Thursday, according to Yahoo! News, Lindows succeeded in defending the action when the Amsterdam District Court ruled that "not every use of the business name 'Lindows' infringes on the Windows trade mark".
The court particularly noted that the name is only found in the small print of the Dutch Linspire web site and product papers, and that both contain clear statements that the company is in no way connected to Microsoft, said the Yahoo! News report.
The dispute dates back to December 2001 when Microsoft filed a trade mark suit in the US seeking to prevent Lindows Inc. from using the terms LindowsOS and Lindows.com, arguing that they infringe on its rights in Windows. Since then Microsoft has raised further actions in Europe.
But the main action, in the US, has not gone entirely Microsoft's way. Most recently a US court refused to allow Microsoft to appeal a decision that the meaning of the term 'windows' must be considered as it was understood prior to 1985 – before Microsoft's Windows was first released.
The interpretation of 'windows' is fundamental to Microsoft's case because if the trial jury finds that the term 'windows' was generic prior to 1985, then it cannot now, or in the future, be trade marked by Microsoft.
The trial is likely to take place later this year.