Alos Blog

I was talking to a friend in Germany yesterday,and at some point he gave me his gmail address: xxxx@googlemail.com.

I said are you sure is @googlemail.com and not @gmail.com? He replied don’t you know Google has lost trademark “Gmail” in the European Union Europe?

After i Google about it i found:

The European Union’s trademark regulation agency denied Google’s appeal in late February. The ruling concluded that the mark is too similar to the G-mail trademark owned by German businessman Daniel Giersch. Giersch runs an electronic postal delivery business that goes by the name G-mail, which is short for “Giersch mail.”
Google modified the name of its free Web-based email service to “GoogleMail” in Germany after losing to Giersch in court there and in Switzerland. Google also uses the “GoogleMail” name in the United Kingdom. as a result of a complaint there.

Daniel Giersch is upset Google on standardizing Gmail.com for all his users of web-based email service! Daniel Giersch claimed that he owns the G-mail trademark since year 2000, and have the registration of G-mail trademark not only in German, but also in Switzerland, Norway and Monaco.

It’s said that Google Inc tried to make a offer to Daniel for a out-of-court resolution, but to not successful. Daniel said that Google’s behavior was very threatening, very aggressive, very unfaithful, and to him, it was very evil!

Following the winning of the lawsuit, he is considering to file a lawsuit in the United States, alleged that he is suffering “investment losses” that the overseas disputes have wrought on the American arm of his venture capital firm.

Well Good Luck Daniel,i don’t think you’ll have the success,you had in Germany and Switzerland, in the US,but who knows..:)