Google Struggles to Win the Gmail Trademark

Gmail, the mail service provided by the search giant, is not only a simple service designed by Google because it caused a lot of headaches for the company. Since its release date in April 2004, Gmail was periodically brought into the spotlights because it was improved, it returned several errors or its name caused problems. Recently, Google tried to obtain the European trademark of Gmail but today, European Trademark agency denied the request sustaining the name of the mail solution is too similar with the one owned by German businessman Daniel Giersch. A Google representative sustained the company will appeal the decision because they do not infringe any copyright.

"The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market dismissed Mountain View, Calif.-based Google's application for the name, ruling Jan. 23 that it was too similar to a brand owned by German businessman Daniel Giersch. Google spokesman Kay Oberbeck confirmed the company's appeal by telephone Thursday. "We strongly believe that we do not violate any other mark with Google's Gmail," Oberbeck said. Google continues to play the strategy to prolong every process further and further and try to ruin me financially, Giersch said in an interview Thursday on his mobile phone," Bloomber reported.

Some time ago, Google was also involved in another Gmail dispute because the Gmail.pl domain was already registered by a group of Polish poets that were promoting the anonymous creations. Although the company sustained it plans to sue the owners, they added the domain was registered a year ago so Google doesn't own any copyright for it.

After Gmail was released as a public beta, the company also encountered problems with the Gmail.cn domain because it was owned by a Chinese website that provided email services to its users. Just as the Polish case, the company sustained it will sue the owners but they refused to give up and brought the search giant to the court.