Cheeky China company suing Google
over name
Reuters
Published on ZDNet News: July 13, 2007, 6:31 AM PT
A Chinese company is suing Google's China subsidiary for copying
its name, saying the U.S. search engine's registered Chinese name
is too similar to its own and has harmed its operations.
A spokesman for Beijing Guge Science and Technology said
similarities between its name and Google's commercial name have
created confusion among people who, in trying to contact the search
engine, mistakenly call Beijing Guge's office and disrupt work
there.
"We just want Google to change their commercial name," Tian
Yunshan, a company official, told Reuters on Friday. "We have
already passed our demands on to Google ... We will see what
happens in court."
The search engine's Chinese name--a transliteration of the English
word "Google"--was also used in Beijing Guge's commercially
registered name, Tian said.
People searching for Google through a local telephone directory
assistance service were invariably directed to Beijing Guge because
the search engine was not listed, Tian explained.
The case had been accepted by a court in Beijing's Haidian
district, the Beijing News reported. It was not immediately clear
if the case has any chance of success.
Tian declined to comment on Beijing Guge's operations or its
products or services, saying it was "not convenient" to disclose
such details.
A Google representative contacted by telephone declined to confirm
the lawsuit and said she was unable to provide immediate
comment.
