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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.""

3 of 449 comments (clear)

  1. Too late by ral315 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Like many other companies, they didn't worry about it until it became too mainstream to stop. It's like LEGO wanting people to call them "Lego bricks" instead of "Legos", or Kleenex using "Kleenex brand tissues"- it's not going to happen, and at some point they will lose their trademark rights because of it.

  2. Not offtopic by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Anyone hear about that one site that got slashdotted the other day after it got posted on Digg? It was down for ages!
    Someone please grasp the subtlety of the parent (though I wish they hadn't posted AC)... The motivation for modding it offtopic is exactly why Google seeks to keep 'to google' out of the vernacular.

    Obviously, some moderator was upset that 'to be slashdotted' was associated with Digg in the parent. I think this just validates why Google is taking this action.

    Anyway, nice one, AC.
    --
    "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
  3. Re:Evil by tgd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How is protection of a trademark evil?

    If they don't do that, then Microsoft could legally set up "google.microsoft.com" and run all their searches through there.

    IE could say "Google: " and point the query at MSN.

    Google is a business. If they don't protect their trademark, they're committing suicide. If the management doesn't, they're going to be sued into oblivion by their shareholders.

    Evil? Just because you don't understand an action doesn't make it evil.