Google loses bid for EU-wide trademark on Gmail name

Google lost its bid to get European Union-wide trademark protection for "Gmail," the name of its Web-based e-mail service. The Gmail name is too similar to an existing German trademark, according to a ruling by the EU's trademark agency published on its Web site. Google has been blocked from getting the EU rights to the name because of the trademark owned by German businessman Daniel Giersch for a slogan that includes the name "G-mail." Giersch, who received his German trademark in 2000, has been entangled in a series of European court cases against Google since the Mountain View company started its e-mail service in 2004. Giersch, CEO of P1 Private, uses the name for a mail business that lets users send electronic files and messages through a central e-mail system.

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