Slashdot Mirror
Gmail Becomes Google Mail in the UK
akadruid writes "As of today, UK Gmail users are seeing 'Google Mail' at the top of their Gmail accounts, and Google is warning they may lose their '@gmail.com' addresses in the future. All new signups from the UK will be assigned '@googlemail.com' addresses, and existing accounts will be able to use either domain for now. Gmail's help pages explain this is related to their ongoing dispute regarding the Gmail trademark."
quick google search (heh) turned up this:
3 394361
5 97,1568223,00.html?gusrc=rss
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/
suggesting that a bunch of people attempted to register gmail as a trademark at the same time back in march/april 2004, including google who were a bit slow off the bat. this applies in the US and i assume it's been resolved, anybody?
as for the uk this guardian article
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12
suggests that the company registered it waaaay back in 2002, therefore not qualifying for bandwaggoning and actually probably having a legit claim.
If you don't risk failure you don't risk success.
More information here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4354954.stm. The company (International Investment Research) has some stupid button that says gmail on an app, and then decided to get it registered after google came out with gmail. The company is only worth $5.6 Million anyways. I hope google decides to just do a hostile takeover (they are publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange) and then fire the dumbasses and their legal team for being conniving assholes.
--ngoy