This is rather silly, I wonder if this is also why Longhorn was changed to Vista. I for one hope the use of Metro sticks around just to spite Metro AG.
Longhorn wasn't changed to vista, it was always a code name and never intended for release. Just like windows whistler and windows blackcomb were never intended to be release names.
For those curious, those names came about because there is a Longhorn Bar in the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort in British Columbia.
Here is Wikipedia's list of Microsoft codenames: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Microsoft_codenames. Strangely, the article lists Metro as the Windows 7 UI. Also, the XML Paper Specification (XPS) had previously also used the Metro codename.
That would be a stupid (and costly) mistake. Better to forge a deal with Metro AG, pay the piper, and invest in the brand.
Perhaps that's what will ultimately happen - if you remember the Cisco/iPhone "debacle", that was free earned media. Apple essentially paid Cisco for keeping the iPhone name alive in the media for weeks.
