RSSGoogle marked by Chinese company for trademark violation
By Tim Conneally | Published December 14, 2007, 11:49 AM
A Beijing company has taken Google's Chinese division to court over the search company's Mandarin name.
Google's name translates to "Guge" (goo-guh) in Chinese, which loosely means "Valley's Song." It was decided upon by Google's CEO Eric Schmidt from a list of 1,800 alternate choices, and announced on April 12, 2006.
Guge Sci-Tech Co. was officially registered with the Beijing Municipal Industrial and Commercial Bureau only a week later, on April 19, 2006. Google did not register its new name until November 24 of that year.
The renaming caused quite an uproar, and opponents of the name actually started an online petition that reportedly received over 10,000 signatures, deeming the new name "unpleasant."
Shanghai Daily reported that Chinese users and analysts alike rebuked Google's choice, suggesting that it reflected the company's ignorance of Chinese culture.
Guge Sci-Tech claims that Google's name has caused confusion which ultimately hurt its business, the Associated Press reported. Guge wants Google to change its name and pay an undisclosed sum to cover legal costs.
Though the nature of the Beijing company's name is suspicious at best, they say Google's choice of name was simply a coincidence.
One reason the search provider chose to rename itself in China because "goo-gull" translates to "old dog" in Chinese, an echo of the unauthenticated tale of Coca-Cola's name trouble in China in the late 1920's.
OK. The timing of Guge Sci-Tech's registration is interesting, but note that they were registering their company, not just adding a name to a portfolio. This isn't a patent-cache that's been laying in the weeds.
Also, while they allege damages from name confusion, they're not seeking reparations - just reimbursemnt of legal costs. The fact that they costs are undisclosed does not make them suspicious - I'm sure both parties know exactly what costs are being sought.
"Your name is damaging our company. Change the name, and reimburse us for the legal fees."
Where's the subtrefuge?
Score: 0
|If this keeps up, they are going to turn me into a xenophobe. For god sake, please tell me I didn't use a copyrighted Chinese word in there. :P It's rather ironic, all of that coming from the land of software and music and video piracy and child labor working on lead filled toys.
Score: 0
|As ridiculous as it may sound, this is rather encouraging. Seems like there is at least one Chinse companies who understand the concept of copyright.
Score: 0
|Nice a country that steals everything under the Sun is complaining that someone is doing it to them.
Score: 0
|My thoughts exactly. I am a little embarassed to say that my first thought for a "chinese" name for Google was more of a slur than anything else.
Score: 0
|You mean this Beijing company = China?
Score: 0
|