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."

Comments

FAQ-ing confusing

[eyeoftheidol]

Anyone else confused by the FAQ? Q4 and Q5 are the same ("What if I'm a UK user who already has a Gmail address?") but the answer is different! Am I missing something? ....

Re:FAQ-ing confusing

[bedroll]

Q4:

What if I'm a UK user who already has a Gmail address? Will that address ever change?
Unfortunately, we don't know. We would love to say that your address will always remain the same. But the trademark issue is still unsettled, and unfortunately, we cannot predict what the other party or the courts might do here. You can always use your same username with an @googlemail.com address to avoid this issue later on. But trust that we will do the best we can to make sure your email address won't ever have to change.

Translation: They cannot guarantee that your address won't change if you have an existing account and are allowed to continue using the gmail.com domain.

Q5:

What if I'm a UK user who already has a Gmail address? Will I also need to change that address?
No, this change doesn't affect existing Gmail addresses. For now, our plan is only to issue @googlemail.com addresses to new users. Trust that we will do the best we can to offer all our users a reliable and consistent email experience.

Translation: You don't need to change your address right now if you have an existing account that is allowed to use the gmail.com domain. New accounts will not be issued gmail.com email addresses, in favor of googlemail.com.

They are very close, but there's just enough difference to make them both valuable questions and answers.

Hmmm...

[jolyonr]

I hear they wanted 25 million GBP (over $40 million) for the gmail name in the UK.

Did they trademark 'BlackMail' too?

Jolyon

So much for

[w.p.richardson]

"Archive, don't delete"...

Kind of a moot point when you lose the email address.

Re:IIIR used the gmail name since 2002

[Threni]

> Google should have checked this stuff out before rolling aout the name around the
> world.

They're not rolling it out - Gmail is still in beta.

links and background info

[cyclomedia]

quick google search (heh) turned up this:

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3 394361

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/0,125 97,1568223,00.html?gusrc=rss

suggests that the company registered it waaaay back in 2002, therefore not qualifying for bandwaggoning and actually probably having a legit claim.

Re:I hate these freeloaders

[bodger_uk]

Any large corporation would / should search before they use a name. Given that the German company had a TM registration application in 2000 and the UK company has been providing service under that name since 99 then opportunism does not come into it. It is likely that they raised objections as soon as Google launched their service but it has only just come to a head and been made public. Maybe if Google had used a well known search engine before launch it would have shown the name already in use.

Re:Do no evil, and ignore the courts

[Motherfucking Shit]

Google obviously thinks they are going to win this case or else wouldn't they want to extend googlemail to all sections of the globe?

They've already done so. Email sent to username@googlemail.com will be delivered to username@gmail.com, regardless of where the account owner lives. If you have an existing GMail account, try sending yourself an email at username@googlemail.com. You'll get the message.

Anyone who's still unconvinced that this is fully transparent,

dig mx gmail.com
dig mx googlemail.com

Other company has had an email service since 2002

[grandmofftarkin]

They are using it for an email service already and have done since 2002. They don't have millions of users but I don't think that should matter as long as they do (and did) provide a viable email service of the same name.

Privacy issues?

[zonix]

Hmm. If Google have to give up gmail.com, then whoever gets the domain instead would be able to receive a shit load of people's private e-mails?

z

Re:Privacy issues?

[generic-man]

That's okay. All the really important e-mail has a disclaimer at the bottom noting that it is for the intended recipients only. That makes it illegal for another person to read it. If another person reads it, they have to notify the sender and delete the message.

/me takes tongue out of cheek

The trademark registrations

[Rogerborg]

Show Google filing 6 months before anyone else in the UK.

Now, just because they registered first doesn't mean that another company wasn't already using it as a de facto trade mark, but it does occur to me that the value of the mark should be determined by what it was before Google started using it, not what it's worth now. That the other claimant has a total market value of £3.24m ($5.6m) should be an indication that the GMail mark isn't worth "$48m to $64m" as they claim.

I actually prefer @googlemail.com

[Phantasmagoria]

I actually prefer @googlemail.com. Firstly, every time I say @gmail.com over the phone or even in person to someone, half the time they hear @email.com, and I have to repeat myself. Plus, I suspect @googlemail.com will be much easier to remember, since most people I know (who have email) recognize the google name. Since it seems anything to @googlemail.com will be redirected to @gmail.com (or they are the same, whatever), I'll start using @googlemail.com from now on in my documents and conversations.

Double-edged sword

[pedestrian crossing]

When I signed up for Hotmail, I entered my country as 'Pakistan', since I didn't think it was Microsoft's business what country I'm from/in. Also, I don't live in the country I'm from, so it's pretty much meaningless anyway.

But lo and behold, when Hotmail upped their storage to 250MB, my account stayed at 2.5MB (later upped to 25MB). Why? Because I'm not in the USA. Do you think changing my profile to USA upped the limit? Hint - the answer is not yes.

Yes, I know Hotmail != Gmail, but the point is that initial profile choices can have unintended consequences...

Re:Yep

[ngoy]

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.

Re:Do no evil, and ignore the courts

[tehshen]

If you have an existing GMail account, try sending yourself an email at username@googlemail.com. You'll get the message.

Keep quiet about it, I'm trying to get people to buy all the new special GoogleMail invites I have

Re:Yep

[KillerDeathRobot]

And that's why Gmail still says "BETA" at the top.

How on Earth did this get modded insightful? Not only is this just regurgitating the same thing people say every time we talk about Google products on Slashdot, but it doesn't even make sense on this one! Gmail is still in Beta because of trademark disputes? Huh?