Google has explained why it needs this trademark by sharing media articles

Apr 4, 2014 09:05 GMT  ·  By

Google is having some troubles with the Trademark Office in the United States as it seeks to register the word “Glass” for its wearable gadget.

The issue has been stalled for a while by the Office, but Google is adamant that the deal must go through. The company has already registered the term “Google Glass” as a trademark.

The Wall Street Journal reports, however, that the US Patent and Trademark Office is objecting to the “Glass” trademark application, which was submitted last year, because it is a generic word.

The issues, it seems, are that the trademark would be too similar to other trademarks containing the word “glass,” which would lead to confusion for consumers, as well as the fact that the word is merely descriptive and that generic terms cannot be trademarked under local laws.

In response, Google has sent a letter with nearly 2,000 words explaining why exactly it wants to trademark such a simple word. The letter contained about 1,900 articles about Google Glass, explaining exactly why they needed the trademark. Truth is that most often than not, the media refers to the device as “Glass” rather than use the full name.

The company doesn’t necessarily need to trademark the word in order to use it in its product, but fending off knock-offs or competition from using it to confuse users would sure be easier.

The Trademark Office has not made a final ruling on the application and it’s unclear when a response will be given.

The device was announced a few years ago, but details had been scarce until Glass was officially launched in 2013. Unfortunately for most people, however, April 2013 only marked the introduction of the Explorer program where testers and developers got the chance to purchase the device.

The Explorer Edition costs $1,500, although the final version that will be made available for all consumers is expected to cost significantly less. If Google wants the device to be a success, the company actually has a lot to cut from that price for it to become available.

Back in November 2013, Google finally unveiled the Glass Developer Kit, which gave developers full access to the device. Up until then, they could only build apps based on Android, Google’s mobile operating system.

The company has also put together a special marketplace for Google Glass users where specially created apps can be found.