“Microsoft has lost an attempt to get a 1980 Korean trademark
for ‘Window’ overturned in the Patent Court after the Supreme Court
ordered a re-trial last May. The trademark is held by diary and
stationery producer Yangji Total Stationery Co of Seoul. The
company has a turnover of $36 million, is the country’s largest
diary producer, and has the Window diary concession for 2002 World
Cup merchandise.”
“Microsoft challenged the trademark in 1993, and offered a
paltry $1,000 for it in 1996, but to no avail. Microsoft may now
find itself faced with a damages suit, and may have to stop using
the name Windows in South Korea. It has been a long slog for Kim
Yong Se, the president of Yangji, who has a trademark for Window in
both English and Korean script.”
“Microsoft had a very relaxed attitude to trademarks in the
early days, and did not get a trademark on Windows in the US until
1994. Last time we checked in the UK, Microsoft’s application was
mired and looked unlikely to succeed.”