[iy56]

Window managers are still commonly called window managers today. Word processors are still called word processors. That's the point - Microsoft hasn't taken away these generic terms. No, you can't call your competing product the exact same thing they call theirs. Why should you be able to? That'd be retarded.

[nitrogen]

No, you can't call your competing product the exact same thing they call theirs.

Likewise, it is reasonable that Microsoft can't call their competing license "open source" when that term already has an established commercial definition and trademark with a specific set of consumer expectations.

Further, until a tradmeark is filed or established by extensive use, competing products can use similar words in their titles. Once upon a time you could have had Microsoft Windows, OpenWindows, the comp.windows.x newsgroup (suggesting that X is a subset of the generic category of "Windows"), etc. Now they will sue if your OS name even rhymes with Windows.

[iy56]

Agreed. But that's all very general stuff. Nothing there so much as hints at special treatment for MS's trademarks specifically, which is what I was initially objecting to.