Another Google trademark setback

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A ruling by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) has made it official-Google will not receive pan-European trademark protection for its "Gmail" branded e-mail service. The ruling represents the latest exchange between the search leader and German entrepreneur Daniel Giersch, who claims rights to the name "Gmail" in Germany and other European jurisdictions.

Google's trademark struggles vis a vis e-mail service are familiar to UK users, where Google conceded the use of "Gmail" back in October 2005 in a clash with a different rights-holder, rebranding as "Google Mail." The company similarly switched to the Google Mail brand in Germany earlier that year as part of the same running dispute with Giersch, who had received favorable rulings from German courts.

Had Google's bid for OHIM's community trade mark protection been successful, the company might have been able to circumvent some of the earlier rulings against it, as all 27 EU member states are bound to honor OHIM trademark decisions. Instead, it appears that Google will have further days in court with Giersch, who has reportedly moved to assert his claim to the Gmail name in other European nations.

A Google spokesperson was quick to point out that the OHIM decision did not remove any rights from Google. The company has indicated that it plans to continue to use the Gmail name in all other countries but the UK and Germany.

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