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Google Sends Legal Threats to Media Organizations
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.""
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.
:-( 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."
:-P.
It almost reminds me of the time that Despair, Inc. patented the frowney emoticon
The only difference is that Despair was only joking
--
"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.
Anyone hear about that one site that got slashdotted the other day after it got posted on Digg? It was down for ages!
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.
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
No, this does not make Google evil. Like any company, they have to protect their trademark, or they risk losing it. If some other company can show that people are using the term Google generically (not referring to Google itself), that Google knew about this and did not take action to prevent it, then they can challenge the trademark.
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.
Anyone remember Buffy The Vampire slayer?
Willow: Have you Googled her yet?
Xander: Willow, she's seventeen!
"Help" Season 7, Episode 4
Summation 2
There is no need to speculate as to why they need to do this. Marks work differently than patents or copyright. Failure to defend a mark can allow it to fall into the public domain. Google could lose the exclusive right to use google as a mark. They do not need to pursue every infringement, but need to demonstrate that they are defending the mark. They need to take special care to defend it against significant infringement which could weaken their case for exclusive use. IANAL (as if you couldn't figure this out by my taking time to read and post), but my spouse use to to work in mark protection, so I learned a bit about it.
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!
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
Could someone Xerox it for me?
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
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
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 ...