7 ms·
Supreme Court asked to nullify the Google trademark
- davis_m 9y ago"There is no single word other than google that conveys the action of searching the Internet using any search engine," How does "search" not convey searching the internet using any search engine?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- glitcher 9y agoExactly. > The appeals panel said trademark loss to genericide occurs when the name has become an "exclusive descriptor" that makes it difficult for competitors to compete unless they use that name. Nobody can convince me that Bing will improve it's marketing by suggesting that people should "use Bing to google anything on the Internet"! Interesting off-topic thought - I still catch myself saying "I'm going to uber there" when I'm actually using Lyft.
- ocdtrekkie 9y agoI still instinctively tell people to "google it" even though I exclusively use Bing or DuckDuckGo. I usually catch myself after.
- RJIb8RBYxzAMX9u 9y agoAnd in an alternate universe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHuZ5qrYX4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHuZ5qrYX4
- chops 9y agoHoly moly! So cringeworthy!
- nol13 9y agoi find odd pleasure in using alternative search engines as a verb in casual conversation
- voidz 9y agoFor laughs I sometimes say I'm AltaVista'ing something. Or "Veronica'ing" if I suspect they'd might get the reference.
- lesserknowndan 9y agoYes, but what search engine to you think they will use? I would expect Google.
- jacquesm 9y ago> How does "search" not convey searching the internet using any search engine? Because 'search' could also be you looking for the second sock to make a pair in 'the real world', search is not internet specific, google is.
- woodrowbarlow 9y agoon its own, the word "search" doesn't imply "the internet". linguistically, the verb "google" has cultural value beyond the brand. it's rare for the phrase "google it" to actually mean "search the internet for it _using google_".
- myko 9y agoit's rare for the phrase "google it" to actually mean "search the internet for it _using google_". This is the only way I ever use the phrase "google it". I don't say I "googled" someone when I search for them on Facebook. I say it when I search on Google.
- eli 9y agoIf you told someone to google "foo" and instead they search for it on DuckDuckGo did they do something wrong?
- Houshalter 9y agoHNs technical internet savvy audience is the wrong place to ask. Average people don't even know what search engine they use, just whatever their browser uses as default.
- lettergram 9y agoHighly doubt that'll happen, otherwise that probably would have happened to the word(s) kleenex, Jacuzzi, crock-pot, etc. They are all synonymous for the items discussed, and in fact shorter to say than the generic term for the products: "tissue paper, "hot tub", "slow cooker". It's just called brand strength...
- philipodonnell 9y agoIts not about length its about whether the term has become so ubiquitous that it identifies a category rather than just a brand. Many, many trademarks have been lost this way and Kleenex is one of those on the verge of being genericized. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleenex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleenex > In the USA, the Kleenex name has become, or as a legal matter nearly has become, genericized: the popularity of the product has led to the use of its name to refer to any facial tissue, regardless of the brand. Many dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster and Oxford, now include definitions in their publications defining it as such. Ironically, one factor is the genericization of trademarks is whether the common usage no longer treats it as a proper noun, that is, whether it is used with or without a capitalized first letter. Your use of the lettering `kleenex` would indicate that it is no longer a brand but just a common noun, and get you a nastygram from the Kleenex marketing team about "Kleenex-brand facial tissues". :-)
- mc32 9y agoXerox also nearly became generic. Coke for cola or even any fizzy drink in some places. I don't think Google is going to become generic.
- reaperducer 9y agoThat's what Bayer thought about Aspirin. But I still agree with you.
- MBCook 9y agoI thought they lost that trademark because of their involvement with the Nazis during World War II? Am I thinking of some other drug?
- adwf 9y agoDoubt it will succeed. I use "hoover" when I'm actually using a Dyson. I'd never say I'm googling something when I'm actually using Bing.
- jstanley 9y agoAs a counter-anecdote, I often say I'm googling something when I'm actually using duckduckgo.
- veneratio 9y agoI also do this, but that's because I work at Google and got tired of explaining to coworkers why I don't usually like the results from our search engine! Also, "I duckduckgoed that" doesn't roll off of the tongue very well.
- mywittyname 9y ago"duck it"
- voidz 9y ago"Let me duck that for you"
- JumpCrisscross 9y agoComing to think of it, I too explain my searches on DuckDuckGo to colleagues as a "Google". Irrespective of the underlying reason, this gives merit to the plaintiffs' claim.
- schoen 9y agoMaybe "I duckduckwent it"?
- spraak 9y agoI'm surprised you'd not get culturally ousted for that? I know nothing about Google's internal culture, but I'd assume everyone would be against using someone else's product.
- Animats 9y agoCould happen. Wikipedia has a list of trademarks formally lost for becoming generic: Aspirin, Catseye, Cellophane, Dry ice, Escalator, Flip phone, Flit gun, Heroin, Kerosene, Lanolin, Laundromat, Linoleum, Mimeograph, Sellotape, Spidola, Teleprompter, Thermos, Trampoline, Videotape. Xerox is still fighting becoming generic. 3M continues to fight on for "Scotch tape".
- brightball 9y agoRoller Blade was the one that always surprised me. I was shocked they seemed to successfully push inline skating to save it.
- Animats 9y agoThey forced a movie to change its name.[1] It's a skater movie, but not an inline skater movie. [1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089930/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089930/
- mywittyname 9y agoI highly doubt it, for three reasons: 1. Google has a whole suite of products that bear its name. 2. The name is not on-the-nose like many of those examples, Videotape, TelePrompter, DryIce, etc. 3. It's not a derived from a clinical or scientific name for a substance. Linoleum is made from linseed oil; Google was not built from googols. Honestly, I think Apple would lose the iphone trademark before Google does.
- blahedo 9y agoI double-take every time I see some fiction where some supposedly real person uses a capital letter for "dumpster", because seriously nobody does that, but apparently there is actually a Dumpster brand and the company that owns it is notoriously litigious.
- faboo 9y agoWhat in the world is the non-"Dumpster" word for a dumpster?
- rhcom2 9y agoI see this happening but not for another few decades.
- raquo 9y agoSo, were the trademark nullified, could Microsoft come up with a google of their own, perhaps on google.bing.com? I mean, they probably wouldn't, but could they?
- kd5bjo 9y agoSure; most books called "Webster's Dictionary" have nothing to do with Noah Webster for this reason. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster%27s_Dictionary https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster%27s_Dictionary
- jlgaddis 9y agoI suppose they could register the bing.google domain and point their search engine users to https://bing.google/ https://bing.google/
- vitus 9y agoThat sounds rather difficult, given that Google manages that TLD. It's no more plausible than Google registering http://google.bing http://google.bing. And no, they are not alone as far as brand-based TLDs go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_top-level_domains#Brand_top-level_domains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_top-level_dom...
- seandougall 9y agoI don't really see the parallel to the other generics listed. Sure, talking to somebody about how you "googled" a search term is analogous to asking someone to "pass me a kleenex". Pedantic people will feign confusion, but otherwise it's totally legit. Registering a domain name that uses the word "google", which is what happened here, is more like trying to sell "Puffs brand kleenex". Pretty clearly not legit, at least here in the US.
- 5thaccount 9y agoAre there two separate issues? Couldn't it be argued the term Google is generic, so therefore the trademark is redundant, but the use in a domain is confusing to people? kleenex in a domain would be likewise confusing.
- throwaway76543 9y agoIf the term is generic then Alphabet loses a right to prevent others from using it in the marketplace. "Kleenex" is not a legally genericized trademark in the US -- though it certainly has potential to become one. Actual genericized trademarks in the US include: Aspirin, Dry Ice, Flip Phone, Kerosene, Thermos, Trampoline, Videotape. You absolutely can sell your own off-brand of the above product using these terms in the US. Entirely legit. More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericize...
- andygcook 9y agoSome more notable ones: escalator, zipper, app store and interestingly enough, heroine.
- Oletros 9y agoAFAIK, app store never lost the trademark
- seandougall 9y agoIt all depends on what the company that owns the trademark does to try to prevent erosion and maintain a strong tie between the word and the brand itself. A related Wikipedia article [1] specifically mentions the lengths Google has gone to in this respect. All that said, there may be an issue of prior art, from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: > "And are you not," said Fook leaning anxiously forward, "a greater analyst than the Googleplex Star Thinker in the Seventh Galaxy of Light and Ingenuity which can calculate the trajectory of every single dust particle throughout a five-week Dangrabad Beta sand blizzard?" [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_trademark https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_trademark
- carapace 9y agoOne day after switching to DuckDuckGo I found myself explaining to a friend that, "I no longer use Google to google things." It gave me pause.
- slg 9y agoWhat is the motivation here for the plaintiff? Isn't it rather expensive to appeal a case all the way up to the Supreme court? Is there really that much money in owning sites like GoogleDonaldTrump.com? I can't imagine it draws that many visitors. I would also think the only serious buyer would be Google and I doubt they would be open to a settlement that might damage the strength of their trademark in the future.
- riku_iki 9y agoSome Google competitor can sponsor this. If TM will be nullified, there will be tons of low quality products with Google word in the name, it will damage brand significantly, and create a lot of customers confusions..
- peteyPete 9y agoSo you better control how successful you get or you may have your name made meaningless. This is ridiculous. When I say I googled it, I looked it up on google. If I looked it up elsewhere, I'll I looked it up on X or X or just looked it up online. Don't penalize the company because people misuse the name. When I say I tweeted it, I don't mean snapped it, or vice versa. Just because the name gets misused, doesn't mean the service providers should get penalized.