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You guys do not understand...
As a lawyer with (some) understanding of how intellectual property law works (it is a real specialty only a few lawyers really know about - not I) it is important for a company to work to protect its registered brand name - or it is subject to losing it. Google here has a difficult position (not altogether bad considering the money it has made...) in that it wants its name be become ubiquitous throughout the computing realm - giving it an ersatz monopoly, but if it becomes too successful, and its name gains the status of "secondary meaning," it could lose its protected trade name - and that would be disastrous for future revenue streams in that anyone could use it. So, while it wants to be the market leader and have its name become synonymous with "searching" - it cannot afford such success and notoriety as it could lose the trade name - and that is worth money. At this point, it cannot win without losing - and looking petty - yet the stakes are quite high. It could suffer a real PR setback protecting its trade name, or suffer losing the trade name. Either way, it is a difficult position, made even more unpalatable by the fact it has made A LOT of money on that name already.

A real dilemma, I think. It depends a lot on how well it is handled - it could be a PR coup or bust and only time will tell if it handles it right.

Just my take. Your mileage may vary. // JH Richards //
Posted by: jruing   Posted on: 08/18/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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OMFG ... are they serious??  Henaway | 08/16/06
IBM lost PC the same way  nucrash | 08/17/06
Brand this:  HypnoToad | 08/16/06
Knockoffs...  jbroche18 | 08/16/06
Soft Drinks  m-nature | 08/17/06
Too big for it's britches?  el1jones | 08/16/06
"Googling"  oskjo | 08/16/06
Google needs to google itself a clue.  Mr. Roboto | 08/16/06
Xeroxing (NT)  flatliner | 08/16/06
Let's be evil...  brneyes@... | 08/16/06
Google variations...  Brett04_z | 08/16/06
Google Origins  holland21617 | 08/16/06
More Google Origins  net_runner | 08/17/06
It's a poor argument  Alleycat155 | 08/16/06
Exactly!  Tony Agudo | 08/17/06
Now hold on a minute !  The Reverend | 08/16/06
And don't forget the proclamation by the great pundit  Confused by religion | 08/16/06
Next lawsuit target:  tic swayback | 08/17/06
Terrible idea...  lawryll@... | 08/16/06
Great Idea lawryll  The Reverend | 08/16/06
Hmmmm Yahooing - has a nice rign to it! (NT)  dave95. | 08/16/06
What's This On My Taskbar?  TreetopAngel | 08/16/06
Too late, Google  flatliner | 08/16/06
Consequences of not doing this  BruceWheelock@... | 08/16/06
Yep, They have to protect it by law!  JuiceCAP | 08/17/06
Apple and Google losing the plot?  the_seb | 08/17/06
Microsoft did try...  Jkirk3279 | 08/28/06
The verb reflects Google's status  John L. Ries | 08/17/06
Apple here we come...  khorsia | 08/17/06
#1 form of advertising  stardreamer | 08/17/06
Too bad Google, you're already generic  Boot_Agnostic | 08/17/06
"Photocopying"  rlcantwell_z | 08/17/06
Too brand or not too Brand  chmatrix | 08/17/06
what Google SHOULD DO about 'googling'  Techno-Shaman | 08/17/06
Keep it up and people will start yahooing instead.  osreinstall | 08/17/06
Instant Messenger  davidsarmstrong | 08/17/06
You've got mail  davidsarmstrong | 08/17/06
What I Googled  BlackDiamond | 08/18/06
You guys do not understand...  jruing | 08/18/06
Google can't control people  Boot_Agnostic | 08/21/06

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