Google Renames Gmail in Germany

Google has lost its long drawn battle with a German businessman, over the use of the name of its email service, Gmail, in Europe. A European trademark office has ruled that Google cannot register 'Gmail' across Europe, as the name is similar to Daniel Giersch's outfit, G-mail, a registered trademark since 2000. After the ruling, Giersch also announced lawsuits to defend more recent registrations of the trademark in Switzerland, Norway and Monaco.

G-Mail, which is short for Giersch mail, provides a 'gmail.de' email address and allows a 'hybrid mail' system in which documents can be sent electronically, printed out by the company, and delivered in paper format, to local addresses.

The Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM), the body which is responsible for European community trademarks, rejected Google's appeal after stiff resistance from the businessman, April 2005. Giersch said Google had even offered to buy the German trademark rights for $250,000.

Google also had to rename its Google Mail service in the UK in 2005, when a research firm claimed 'Gmail' for its financial analytics software in an out of court settlement with the search giant.

A Google spokesman says the company can still use the name in countries where it is being used. He clarified that Google's free Web-based e-mail service will be continue to be known as 'Gmail' in all European countries, except for the United Kingdom and Germany, where it will be referred to as 'Google Mail.'

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