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Nap Time!!!

Saturday, May 05, 2007
Pointless comment

Things sure do get slow this time of year. Thanks to this, I have a random question:

What trademark claim can Google make to the term "google" as a verb? Do you or anyone you know use "google" as a generic verb for "look it up on the internet" rather than "look it up on the internet using Google"?

posted by Beetle Aurora Drake 5/05/2007 08:59:00 PM #
Comments (7)
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Comments:
i use google all the time
 
How important is that distinction in terms of trademark protection? I know I only say "google" when I'm looking something up on Google, but then again Google is the only search engine I use.
 
If you say "Google" to mean "use Google," then it can still be considered Google's word. If you use to mean "search in general" (e.g. "xerox" for "copy") then it isn't clear that the company still owns that word.
 
slow? the asuc might get sued!
 
Fast? The ASUC might not get sued!

What are you talking about? I hope you aren't talking about this, because that would look pretty silly.
 
you can make anything into a verb if you try hard enough. if i decide to start using coca-cola as a verb, does that erode their copyright claims?
 
The issue isn't whether it's used as a verb, it's whether it's used to specify "coca-cola" or not. The wikipedia entry on the topic is here.
 
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