[kictanet] US Supreme Court asked to nullify the Google trademark

Mon Aug 21 21:30:29 EAT 2017

The distinction between Google and OMO, ASPIRIN and the rest is that it
(Google) refers to a service, unlike the rest that refer to goods. In any
case the applicable rules are still the same.

Most of the time, the term 'google' or 'googling' refers to searching for
stuff online on a Google search page or engine. I am yet to hear someone
googling on Yahoo, Bing or Yandex etc. It's the same for 'facebooking',
'whatsapping' or 'tweeting' which despite almost having generic usage, are
still specific to those products.

The test that is applied is whether the mark has become synonymous with the
goods/services in that class, such that by the use of the mark other
businesses with products in the same class would be unable to do business.
You see a mark like THERMOS became synonymous with vacuum flasks, such that
even if you had another brand called YELLOW and put it out for sale, it
would be described as a YELLOW Thermos.

For products like OMO, you'll notice that the company beat the
genericization by changing the colour of the product, coupled with
aggressive marketing and several rebrands. The competitors e.g. TOSS,
ARIEL, SUNLIGHT etc also did the same to distinguish their products from
OMO. Google's competitors in the search market haven't been disadvantaged
by the use of the term, save for the fact that people think Google has a
better product.

IMHO, I don't think Google has reached that part where they let their brand
go yet, and I'm sure they won't sit on their laurels and watch as their
coveted $100 billion brand gets genericized.

Victor

On 21 Aug 2017 8:05 pm, "anyega jefferson via kictanet" <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

Wikipedia is not a good source to rely on.
The Google team can argue about their investment and reliance on the name
for their business.
The U.S Supreme Court has a conservative majority, very protective of
corporations from past cases I have seen.

On Mon, Aug 21, 2017 at 7:40 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> The Google case is very different from these cases; as-is, "google" is
> already an English verb. And once a trademark becomes a verb and hence
> generic, it's downhill all the way.
>
> OMO, BLUEBAND etc while coming to symbolize an entire genre of products
> never reached that level of getting into the lexicon of the English
> language.
>
> I didn't come up with the rules, its just the way it works :-)
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks
>
> Regards
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 21, 2017 at 6:11 PM, Victor Kapiyo <vkapiyo at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> We have had almost similar scenarios in Kenya. You will remember brands
>> like "OMO" which became the common name for powdered soap; "BLUEBAND" for
>> magarines; "KIMBO" for cooking fat; "QUENCHER" for juices; "NISSAN" for all
>> 11-14 seater vans/matatus; "PAMPERS" for diapers; "COLGATE" for toothpaste;
>> "PANGA" for bar soap and the list goes on. Just because a trade mark (and
>> we must distinguish this from copyright) has become the common name for a
>> product or service for which it is registered, doesn't mean it will lose
>> the protection. However, the protection will only available to the owner of
>> the mark so long as they have taken sufficient measures to protect it.
>>
>> Because otherwise, of what use is trademark protection if the owners
>> can't benefit from the publicity and notoriety their product has received
>> and profit from it!
>>
>> *Victor Kapiyo*
>> Partner | *Lawmark Partners LLP*
>> Advocate of the High Court of Kenya & Commissioner for Oaths
>> *Suite No. 8, Centro House, Westlands, Nairobi | **Web:
>> www.lawmark.co.ke <http://www.lawmark.co.ke> *
>> ====================================================
>>
>> *“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude” Zig
>> Ziglar*
>>
>> On 21 August 2017 at 17:49, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>> The moment your copyright becomes a verb in English, you've lost half
>>> the battle to holding onto it.
>>>
>>> Today its very normal to just say I *googled*  as opposed to "...I
>>> searched for it on Google..."
>>>
>>> And I am sure you wouldn't want everyone saying googled/google it etc
>>> being sued for Copyright infringement, right?
>>>
>>> Regards
>>>
>>> On Mon, Aug 21, 2017 at 4:29 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet <
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I think its quite unfair to have a company like Google who have built a
>>>> brand name that went all the way to be "generisized" to actually not be
>>>> given the right to trademark. So what implications does it have then to
>>>> their company? I mean.. you can't just say someone set up a company and
>>>> called it "Sufuria".
>>>>
>>>> Plus also Google is not just search but a varierty of products. All
>>>> unrelated to Search. But the implications of this are even further than
>>>> this. Does it mean that when you open DuckDuckGo or MSN search youd end up
>>>> seeing "DuckDuckGo Google" or "MSN Google"?
>>>>
>>>> To make matters worse lets not even think about Google to begin with
>>>> and start thinking about what people will say about "Alphabet"... :D
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Aug 21, 2017 at 3:45 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
>>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Listers
>>>>>
>>>>> Interesting development.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is the term "google" too generic and therefore unworthy of its
>>>>> trademark protection? That's the question before the US Supreme Court.
>>>>>
>>>>> Words like teleprompter, thermos, hoover, aspirin, and videotape were
>>>>> once trademarked. They lost the status after their names became too generic
>>>>> and fell victim to what is known as "genericide."
>>>>>
>>>>> What's before the Supreme Court is a trademark lawsuit that Google
>>>>> already defeated in a lower court. The lawsuit claims that Google should no
>>>>> longer be trademarked because the word "google" is synonymous to the public
>>>>> with the term "search the Internet."
>>>>>
>>>>> US Supreme Court asked to nullify the Google trademark
>>>>> <https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/08/supreme-court-asked-to-nullify-the-google-trademark/>
>>>>>
>>>>> What are the implications in the Kenyan context?
>>>>>
>>>>> Have you heard guys using Airtel Money saying 'Mpesa me please?' :-)
>>>>>
>>>>> Should governments even think about this? It's ludicrous that we are
>>>>> even discussing this.. :-)
>>>>>
>>>>> *Ali Hussein*
>>>>>
>>>>> *Principal*
>>>>>
>>>>> *Hussein & Associates*
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Tel: +254 713 601113
>>>>>
>>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>>>>
>>>>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>>>>
>>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>>>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
>>>>>
>>>>> Chiromo Road, Westlands,
>>>>>
>>>>> Nairobi, Kenya.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are
>>>>> purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the
>>>>> organizations that I work with.
>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> *Ahmed Maawy*
>>>> Head of Corporate Products - Al Jazeera Media Network
>>>> Skype: ultimateprogramer
>>>>
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>>>> ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
>>>>
>>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> *Regards,*
>>>
>>> *Wait**haka Ngigi*
>>> Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod
>>> Building
>>> T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000
>>> www.at.co.ke
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
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>>>
>>
>
>
> --
> *Regards,*
>
> *Wait**haka Ngigi*
> Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod
> Building
> T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000
> www.at.co.ke
>
> _______________________________________________
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> ailman/options/kictanet/jeffersonanyega%40gmail.com
>
>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
>

-- 
Anyega M Jefferson

jeffersonanyega at gmail.com

0703824326

Start where you are,use what you have and do what you can.

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