Google can no longer use the Gmail name in Germany because the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court has ruled that using it would infringe on a man’s trademark.
As in the U.K., where it likewise doesn’t own the Gmail trademark, Google provides the service under the name “Google Mail” in Germany.
“We have also applied for the registration of ‘Gmail’ as a EU-trademark on the territory of the European Union and are allowed to use it with one exception in Germany and one in the U.K.,” said a Google spokeswoman in the U.K.
[Google loses Gmail trademark case in Germany]
[tags]trademark, intellectual property, intellectual property law[/tags]