Google Loses Gmail Trade Mark Case

March 20, 2008

Google’s unsuccessful EU wide trade mark application to register the name ‘G-mail’ shown here is a salutary lesson about the importance of registering rights to a brand early, and in all countries in which you hope to use it. When an EU application is successfully opposed in any one member state, as it was here, the entire application fails (although it may then be converted to individual country applications).

It is expected Google will appeal (see media report here) But in the meantime Google will not be using the name Gmail in Germany or the UK where the mark Gmail is registered by the Independent International Investment Research. This was also the subject of a dispute with Google (now settled on terms whereby Google agreed to use the word Googlemail instead of Gmail in the UK).