Google Sued for ‘Stealing’ Android Name

Google and 47 other international corporations have been sued in a US District Court for trademark infringement over their use of the word Android. To Google, Android is the name of its open-source, Linux-based operating system for phones and mobile devices that it introduced in November of 2007. To Erich Specht, a software developer and internet applications service provider in the Village of Palatine, Illinois, Android is the part of the name of his company, Android Data, for which he was granted a trademark in October of 2002 by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Google applied for a trademark for Android in October of 2007, but had that application denied in February of 2008. The USPTO’s reasoning for the denial was simple: Since both Google and Specht were involved in the development of software and related services, consumers are likely to conclude that the goods are related and originate from a single source. Google countered in August, claiming that the trademark Android Data hadn’t been used for over three years, that the company has been dissolved for over four years, and that there couldn’t be any confusion between the two names