Mandrakesoft becoming Mandriva

In the wake of a trademark lawsuit and its acquisition of Conectiva, Linux seller Mandrakesoft is renaming itself Mandriva. The companies announced their intent to merge in February and completed the transaction March 30.

Last year, Mandrakesoft appealed a French court's ruling in favor of Hearst Holdings in a trademark dispute; Hearst's King Features Syndicate has distributed a comic strip called Mandrake le Magicien since 1934. "By adopting a new name, we eliminate the liability attached to the Mandrakesoft name and we can focus on what is important to us," developing software, the company said in a statement Thursday.