Google Loses Gmail Trademark Case

amigoro writes "A court in Germany today banned Google from using the name 'Gmail' for its popular webmail service following a trademark suit filed by the founder of G-Mail. Daniel Giersch, started using the name G-Mail in 2000, four years before Google released 'Gmail'. "Google infringed the young businessman's trademark that had been previously been registered," said the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in its judgement."

Comments

G, Really?

[Seumas]

I'm sure laws like this will change over time. After all in an increasingly global market, you can't afford for your trademark to be diluted by having a different name in each of six different geographical regions. I'm sure that someday the WTO will have something arranged so that the guy producing the most benefit from the trademark will win. If you came up with the trademark (or a copyrighted idea) twenty years ago and are using it to generate a million dollars in business per year, you have to surrender it to the bigger company who comes along and is making a billion dollars per year off of it.

I would think that would fall into the whole imminent domain concept that they use to justify taking part of your property to build a strip mall or expand a road. Likewise, a billion dollars of business in your economy is more important to society than some piddly million dollar business using the same concept or trademark.

Sad, but . . . I think that might be in our future.

Re:Legitimate Case?

[munrom]

So we get rid of this guy's legal right because google didn't bother to check that GMail didn't conflict with any trademarks of the markets they entered? It's the guys choice if he wants to sell the name or not. Also why would 5 million users have to change their email address?

Where?

[Raere]

So, does this only happen in Germany, or is Google banned from using Gmail internationally?

Re:sort of makes me wish

[TheRaven64]

Actually, if you had spamMePlease@gmail.com, the automated email scrapers that people use to assemble these lists would probably assume the 'spam' had been added in as an anti-spam mechanism, and MePlease@gmail.com would end up getting all your spam...

Re:Just wondering...

[TWDsje]

I think the whole reason this came about was because Google tried to offer him cash and he refused saying he's certain his business will do well. Google wouldn't go to court without first trying to see if they can get it for less than it would cost to sue. Sure it gives the guy publicity, but honestly there's going to be a point where he'd be stupid not to sell out. At the same time he sounds pretty set on never selling. Some may call it smart business, but I think he's just kidding himself.

Re:Legitimate Case?

[loganrapp]

Exactly. This was a case of poor planning. Not that hard to go, "okay, let's make sure that gmail isn't taken in all the major NA and European countries. Oh, dude in Germany? Well, let's make him an offer."

Something tells me they could have made an early offer that both parties would have been happy with - I mean, dude could make millions just by luck of naming something with a letter. But instead, Google just goes ahead with it and tries to fix it after the fact. Not necessarily evil, just crappy planning and then a desperate attempt to fix it.

I wonder if they even tried the carrot before they used the stick. Maybe they made an offer and the guy wanted more. No excuse for what they're doing, but I'm curious.

Re:sort of makes me wish

[innocent_white_lamb]

I saw a guy a short while ago whose actual email included "NOSPAM", as in "joeblowNOSPAM@example.com". You have to include the NOSPAM in his address because that's really part of it. I thought it was a very clever idea; he told me that he gets very little spam.

Re:sort of makes me wish

[simm1701]

I use spam@mydomainnamebutimnottellingyouwhatitis.com as a spam harvester - I registered it on several mailing lists and forums and then plugged it directly into my spam assassin learning filters since everything to that address is guaranteed to be spam - since I did that the accuracy of spam assassin has certainly increased.

I suspect I could do a little more with auto blacklisting of mail servers and such things but haven't got around to it yet

I also find it rather amusing to give that address to companies over the phone when they can't give me a sensible reason for wanting my email address (ie its purely for "marketing purposes")

UK can use gmail.com

[Fepple]

In the UK you are told to use @googlemail.com, however you can use @gmail.com if you want. Mail to both addresses ends up in the same mailbox I guess its the same for Germany