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Google Sends Legal Threats to Media Organizations

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the you-wouldn't-like-google-when-it's-angry dept.

rm69990 writes "Google, becoming more and more concerned about the growing use of the word google as a verb, has fired off warning letters to numerous media organizations warning them against using its name as a verb. This follows google (with a lowercase g) being added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in June. According to a Google spokesperson: "We think it's important to make the distinction between using the word Google to describe using Google to search the internet, and using the word Google to describe searching the internet. It has some serious trademark issues.""

8 of 449 comments (clear)

  1. Trademark :-( by ExE122 · · Score: 5, Funny

    What the hell is Google thinking? Any mention of their name is great publicity and they should be happy with it. Instead they look like a bunch of corporate penny mongers trying to be a general inconvenience.

    It almost reminds me of the time that Despair, Inc. patented the frowney emoticon :-( and threatened to charge anyone that used them. "Let our message to trademark violators be clear. Whether you are a 4th grade nothing using your momma's AOL account, or you are Time Magazine's 'Man of the Year', we are going to hunt you down, and when we do, we're really going to give you something to :-(® about."

    The only difference is that Despair was only joking :-P.

    --
    "A man is asked if he is wise or not. He replies that he is otherwise" ~Mao Zedong

    --
    Capitalism: When it uses the carrot, it's called democracy. When it uses the stick, it's called fascism.
  2. Did anyone hear about... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Anyone hear about that one site that got slashdotted the other day after it got posted on Digg? It was down for ages!

  3. Googled does sound dirty though by Rik+Sweeney · · Score: 5, Funny

    Anyone remember Buffy The Vampire slayer?

    Willow: Have you Googled her yet?
    Xander: Willow, she's seventeen!

    "Help" Season 7, Episode 4

    --
    Summation 2
  4. Re:Evil by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 5, Funny

    See, Google is starting to become Evil.

    Don't worry. I'm still in the early beta stages. I'll let you know when I've become fully actualized.

    --
    This guy's the limit!
  5. Googling woes by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 5, Funny

    Once I was feeling artistic, so I Googled how best to Xerox my head onto a Playboy Bunny, maybe using some Scotch Tape, but found out I could Photoshop it instead. So, I had a Coke, grabbed some Kleenex, and got to work.. but was disturbed by my mom coming in to Hoover. So I quickly shut down the PC, and decided to use Crayolas and Play-Doh instead.

    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  6. I can't find my copy of the memo from Google, by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 5, Funny

    Could someone Xerox it for me?

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
  7. Re:Generic Brand Name Issue by flumps · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would have done but its been slashdotted. Or is that Slashdotted. erm.

    --
    "So there he is, risen from the dead. Like that fella, E. T." - Father Ted Crilly
  8. YouTube is suing Stevens by slashdotmsiriv · · Score: 5, Funny

    On related news, YouTube is taking legal steps against the US Senate for using its brand name to describe the internet ... Senator Stevens was not available for comment ...