Google got its patent

yellum

http://google.blogspace.com/archives/000847

Google got its patent for its cataloging and ranking of sites.

They set their lawyers on those that use the phrase "to google" recently, now with this behind them what are they going to do ?

sceptre

They set their lawyers on those that use the phrase "to google" recently, now with this behind them what are they going to do ?

Hmmm, dunno, but I'm going to google and find out.

The granting of the patent would have no bearing on their lawyers stamping down on people who use the "to google phrase" - it's a trademark preservation tactic as there have been many trademarked products that have lost their protection in the past. What happens is that people start using the word, it comes into common usage, becomes a generic word for the product itself and similar products from other companies and then the courts won't recognise the right of the company to maintain the trademark as a protected name just for their product. Such as formerly trademarked names like "yo-yo", "aspirin" and "sellotape". Google for them and find out! Coca-cola have been the staunchest protectors of a trademarked name - they're even worse than Disney for taking people to court. As an aside, AFAIK Coca-cola is the only product to have two protected names ("Coca-Cola" and "Coke"). Interesting stuff so worth googling for.

Hence the lawyers getting warmed up - they don't want to fall into the same hole the Duncan company did with their product. They didn't even try to help themselves with their slogan: "if it isn't a Duncan, it isn't a yo-yo". That implied that the Duncan Yoyo wasn't the only yo-yo on the block. Kodak nearly fell into the same hole around 1905. If people start using phrases like "Google for it - on lycos" any time soon, Google will get a hell of a lot less in their upcoming IPO as their name is worth as much as their technology. The technology is now patented though, making the company worth at least something (anyone out there have 300 million and change?). There's lots of info out there on the upcoming Google IPO - google for "google" and you'll have it. Yahoo have quite a bit of info - so google for "google" on Yahoo.

Now I'm tired - all this googling has worn me out.

yellum

Ahhhh that makes sense.

sceptre

Just got around to reading the link you posted now:D

The Wordspy definition: "To search for information on the Web, particularly by using the Google search engine"

The first part of that definition would give any IP lawyer night sweats. The second part (the word "particularly", as you might have guessed from what I said above) would get him screaming for a pot of coffee and a phone.

Acknowledging that "google is a registered trademark of..." at the end of the definition would be enough to call off the dogs. If I were one of the dogs, it wouldn't be enough, as I'd be pretty paranoid about the name of the company I represent entering language as a verb (rather than as a noun) - eventually any trademark that becomes a noun loses its protection over time, whether that's done in the media or by ordinary people (look at "hoover"). The word "particularly", we may well hear about that again in the future. From the standpoint of any company, it's grand to have the name of your trademarked product in common use (free advertising), as long as it's exclusively associated with your product.

An online dictionary:D - must have been a fun morning in Google's legal department. From their point of view, they should have been doing this a long time ago before the dictionaries started noticing. The minute Websters and the OED take it on Google will be rolling down that slippery slope, especially if their definition even hints at anyone using the word in relation to any other search engine (I'm surprised the legal letter didn't make any reference to the lack of a capital letter as US courts like trademarks they're considering to follow the convention).

pickarooney

It's enough to make you googly-eyed.

GoneShootin

in the film Maid in Manhatten :

The son asks the mom about something. She tells him to google it at school

twas perhaps the most interesting line in the whole filme

yellum

William Gibsons soon to be released book (I have it since November ) has loads of uses of google. She googled his name, she googled that etc

Samba

They have recently launched


www.froogle.com


Apparently offering customer protection on purchased etc, dont quote me tho, will have to investigate more

yellum

Its seems work bought or is trialing one of the Google Search Appliances. I am sucking up to the search engineer at work at the moment seeing will I be allowed to play with it. I'd like to mess around with the Google API.