Google faces another trademark suit in Germany
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A German court is set to hear oral arguments in a trademark suit against Google Inc. next week, as the search giant faces yet another legal challenge to its AdWords keyword advertising program.ADVERTISEMENTIntroducing IBM eServer p5 systems.Powered by IBMâs most advanced 64-bit microprocessor (POWER5(tm)), p5 systems can run UNIX and Linux simultaneously. Learn more about eServer p5 systems.
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A federal judge on Wednesday handed online search engine Google Inc.  a victory in a trademark infringement case on Wednesday, ruling that when users searched for insurer GEICO, Google could display rivals as well.
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Anonymity ist verboten Google is threatening to close the German version of Gmail if the Bundestag goes through with new laws to ban anonymous email accounts.â¦
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Google appeals to Brazilian court to review order on information disclosure    RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept.
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A Chinese company is suing Google  Inc.&#39;s China subsidiary for copying its name, saying the U.S.  search engine&#39;s registered Chinese name is too similar to its  own and has harmed its operations.
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Volkswagen files a subpoena for the identity of a YouTube user who posted a Nazi-themed parody of a recent VW Golf commercial. The move highlights the privacy risks for users of video-sharing and social-networking sites, and no law requires the sites need to notify users of those subpoenas.
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(InfoWorld) - Google can't use the Gmail name in Germany because doing so would infringe on someone else's trademark, a German court has ruled. Google regrets the decision by the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court but said the ruling will not affect its ability to offer the Web-based mail service in Germany, Google Senior Legal Counsel Arnd Haller said in a statement. As in the U.K., where it likewise doesn't own the Gmail trademark, Google provides the service under the name "Google Mail" in Germany. "We have also applied for the registration of 'Gmail' as a EU-trademark on the territory of the European Union and are allowed to use it with one exception in Germany and one in the U.K.," said a Google spokeswoman in the U.K. Google launched its Gmail Webmail service in 2004 and owns the "Gmail" trademark in more than 60 countries, according to the company. In Germany, Google launched its Webmail service in 2005, initially under the "Gmail" brand, said Kay Oberbeck, Google's head of communications and public affairs for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Scandinavia. However, Google changed the service's name to "Google Mail" after Daniel Giersch objected to the use of the name in Germany and successfully sued the company. The appeals court that sided with Giersch on Wednesday will probably take several months to publish its reasons for reaching its decision, Oberbeck said in a phone interview Thursday. Once Google has had a chance to read the court's grounds for Wednesday's decision, it will decide whether it will drop the matter or try to take it to Germany's Supreme Court, Oberbeck said. Giersch, a 33-year old entrepreneur, said that the German court declared that Google can't use the name "Gmail" in Germany because it would infringe on his "G-mail" trademark. He registered the "G-mail" trademark in Germany in 2000 and has been battling Google in German courts for the past three years, according to Giersch. There are ongoing legal proceedings between Giersch and Google over the "Gmail" name in Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland, according to Giersch. Oberbeck said Google recently took Giersch to court in Austria to prevent him from setting up a business under the Gmail name there. As part of that case's resolution several weeks ago, Giersch signed a cease-and-desist declaration stating he would not offer any services under the "Gmail" name in Europe, excluding Germany and the non-EU countries of Monaco, Norway, and Switzerland, the U.S. spokesman said. However, Giersch takes issue with this account, saying he didn't sign any cease-and-desist declarations as a result of the Austrian case. Giersch said he told the Austrian court what he has told the Switzerland court: That he's only interested in using the "G-mail" name in Germany, Monaco, Norway, and Switzerland. "That's where I registered my marks, that's where I do business, and that's all I want," he said. Google disputes Giersch's assertion that he owns a trademark for "G-mail" at all in Germany. "He owns a colored, succinctly designed word/device mark for the black/yellow logo 'G-mail,'" the Google U.S. spokesman said. That logo can be seen on the home page of Giersch's G-mail company Web site. G-mail, operated by Giersch's P1privat near Hamburg, Germany, provides what Giersch describes as a "hybrid" mail service that combines e-mail and regular mail. Giersch, who is based in Monaco, isn't interested in selling Google ownership of the name in dispute but rather is interested in growing his G-mail business, whose commercial operations he launched in 2000, he said. The G-mail operation has about 10 full-time employees and 45 part-timers and subcontractors. Google doesn't use the Gmail name in the U.K. because it is currently trademarked by someone else. Google representatives didn't know who the owner of the Gmail name is in the U.K. nor whether Google is currently making any attempts to secure the name there. They confirmed the owner isn't Giersch. In Switzerland, both Google and Giersch have the right to use the Gmail name, Oberbeck said. According to Giersch, he will seek to prevent Google's use of the Gmail name in that country.
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LONDON - A US federal court has ruled that Google can continue selling advertising linked to user searches for trademarked words after insurance firm Geico lost its legal battle to halt the search giant doing so.
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A French film company filed a lawsuit against Google in the Paris Commercial Court, charging the search giant with copyright infringement.
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An Israeli town is suing Internet giant Google for slander over a posting by a user of its worldwide mapping service that claims the town was built on the ruins of an Arab village, an official said Monday.
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Search giant prepares to challenge company's use of "JewTube" name on Jewish-oriented video site.
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Pledges 'constructive' dialogue with Europe Google is reported to be facing a fresh regulatory investigation: this time in the US, and into its acquisition of ad serving firm DoubleClick.â¦
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Google settled a lawsuit with American Blind and Wallpaper Factory, which had claimed advertisements on Google Web pages infringed trademarks.
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Google is being investigated by the European Union over possible violation of the bloc's privacy rules. At issue is the search engine's practice of retaining user information for up to two years.
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A federal judge heard arguments Monday in a trademark dispute that could threaten millions in advertising revenue for search engine Google Inc.
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Search firm has to be told twice Copiepresse, the French and German language news agency in Belgium, has for the second time won the support of the Belgian courts in its battle to stop Google including snippets of its articles on the Google News search pages.â¦
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Does Geico's trademark lawsuit against Google have merit? How will the case be argued?  What's the likely outcome of the trial?  A mock court of trademark experts weighs in with their verdict.