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Google Sued Over Android Name... But Was It Actually Being Used?
from the i'm-looking...-but-not-finding dept
A whole bunch of people have been sending in varieties of the story that Google has been sued by a guy named Erich Specht, who holds a trademark on the term "Android Data," supposedly for Android Data Corporation, the company he apparently runs. Google recently applied for a trademark on "Android" in association with its mobile operating system, and had it rejected, due to worries over confusion with Specht's trademark. Based on that, Specht is now suing Google and pretty much anyone who's ever mentioned the possibility of partnering with Google and using the Android OS (over 40 companies are listed).
It's a bit surprising that Google wasn't more sure of the name before launching its operating system, but even then, the lawsuit (and the trademark rejection) seems odd and troubling. First... I can't seem to find any evidence online of Android Data Corporation doing anything. In order to hold a trademark, you're supposed to be using the mark in commerce. At best, I can find a parked homepage, and one random listing in a directory. It's hard to see how that's "use in commerce" though perhaps there are technology businesses out there that don't involve having a webpage. Second, it's hard to see why the trademark application was rejected. What this guy is doing (developing software and hosting websites) seems wholly unrelated to a mobile operating system, and not at all confusing. It seems quite unlikely that anyone would confuse the two at all. Chances are that Mr. Specht sees this as a chance to cash in, and get Google to pay up.
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who cares? it's a chance to get money
this guy was convinced by some ambulance chaser to sue and is hoping to get paid out of court to shut up.
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Re: who cares? it's a chance to get money
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didn't they search?
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Alternatively, DIE CORPORATE AMERICA LEECHES
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Re:
HI!!! I'm a big fan...
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ANDROID DATA (e-commerce):
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4002:vqe5gu.2.5
ANDROID (mobile os):
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4002:vqe5gu.2.16
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Perhaps a little slack...
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I am sure the term "Android Data" was first used on Star Trek Next Generation
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Re:
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More information...
Here is something about his "company."
http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_fsz41b
Perhaps more surprising is that he would sue at all. Most of the time the infringed party sends a cease & desist before going to the trouble of a lawsuit. The court may wonder why Mr. Specht failed to do so. Or, perhaps he did and was ignored.
In any case, there is typically little money in trademark suits. I suspect Mr. Specht may be a little disappointed with his settlement, if any.
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Re:
Huh? A trademark is not a thing that you own and have complete control over. Google isn't using this guy's mark. They're using their own brand that is not at all competing with this guy.
It sounds to me like Mike is catering to Google over Android simply because Android is a "little people."
Huh? Why should I care little or big? When I write about the music industry or the telcos, people say I hate big companies.
When I write about patents or search engines people say I always support big companies.
You're wrong.
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Name Confusion
This is not at all the case. Android Watches is part of an entirely different industry. However, I can see my mother, or anyone who isn't involved in the tech industry, dealing with Android Data Corporation, and saying "Hey, aren't you the guys who make those mobile phones." It's information technology, and so it's the same industry, as far as trademarks are concerned.
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Different Industries
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Re: Name Confusion
That said I see the entire case boiling down to how much is Specht using his trademark? It seems to land somewhere between "not at all" and "paying an ambulance-chaser's commission."
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What about these?
Seems to be more Androids around, why is this guy special?
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Re: Android
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Re:
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Blame it on the SEO. Thanks to an overwhelming discussion over Google's Android, it is very unlikely that other 'android' discussions ever appear on the top 1000 results at least.
How many times have you found a link to the 'Java coffee beans' when you google "Java"
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My point? None really. Android is a generic name first coined (according to Wikipedia) in 1270 and has no place being the subject of a lawsuit. It's money grabbing at its most blatant - funny how there were no complaint when the name was announced in 2007, only when Google started making money from it.
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android trademark
actually, this presents a great op for Google to rebrand the platform - call it gPhone or gMobile
with Google and all the 3G and 4G, this would be a killer name --- let Android go bye bye. Get Gphone or GMobile
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1. Android?
2. Data?
3. Android Data?
4. All of the above?
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Android Data
To infer that it's not in use just in commerce just because you can't find it on the Internet has a ton of holes in it, and certainly no relevance under USPTO trademark law. Think about all the organizations in the phone book that don't have web sites.
I'd say that, provided he's actually using it in commerce, and a single business card handed out would be "use", then Google has no more rights to Android Data than I would to "Google Consulting" for my consulting business.
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Re: Android Data
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Android data
Second point - this guy could dissolve the business, go bankrupt, sell the busines (excluding the mark) and guess what? He still owns the mark and has all rights to it in whatever categories he registered it in. Software being the primary one for sure - and nobody can argue that Android OS is not a software.
He wins. Google loses as do all of the other 39 companies.
Rename Android. And a very amateur move by Google.
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DON'T DO IT!!!!!
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I just did a search on the TESS database and got 51 matches with the word 'android'. This was anyway the only one that went into the same gategory. The first use was 01/01/1999 and if anyone remembers that time, having a website was not that important on those days as it is now. So companies without a website may still exist and they may do business, as astonishing it would be.
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Re: wolfy
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Re:
Good question.
Same reason they granted a patent on the word "Runza," used in the market to describe a...runza, which was the proper name for a cabbage-and-beef, pouch-like sandwich. That name had been in use for that sandwich since the 1800s. Runza Corp got the trademark, and proceeded to sue every church with runzas at their bake sale, the public schools for having it on their lunch menu, etc.
The trademark office makes mistakes. However, they will allow common words to be trademarked as part of a phrase or in a certain usage. You can't trademark "Tahoe" as a word and then sue the state of Nevada, but you can trademark it's use in referring to a vehicle. You can't trademark "burger" when referring to a hamburger. But, you could trademark it when referring to a mobile phone, and no one else could release another mobile phone called the "Burger."
"I'll tell you why, because they make money every time they grant a patent or trade-mark."
Bad answer. It is a non-profit, taxpayer-funded government office. The application fee is not refunded if the mark is denied. They make no more money whether it is allowed or denied.
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This is legitimate
This guy deserves the respect - it clearly is a business that is software based - the filing sindicate it - and Google's Android is software. Seems cut and dry from this perspective. If Google made a Car and called Android, then there wouldn't be overlap... unless the car ran on software called "Android"... the vicious circle - bottom line - google made a big mistake.
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