Archive: September, 2005

Recently, we’ve added yet more pages to the search engine map section of our site.

The map now includes quite a few new additions, most recently Mamma and Kanoodle. Here’s the full list of recent additions:

Search Engines

• A9 Search
• Alexa Search
• AOL Search
• Become Shopping Search
• InfoSpace Search
• Kanoodle Search
• Mamma Search Engine
• Netscape Search
• WiseNut Search

Directories

• AbiLogic Directory
• About Directory
• Zeal Directory

Blog Search Engines

• Daypop
• Feedster
• IceRocket
• Technorati

Independent International Investment Research PLC, which is considering legal action against Google for trademark infringement on the domain name “g-mail” has prepared a valuation report on the trademark.

According to their data, the ‘gmail’ name is worth between $48Million and $ 64 Million USD.

Well, at least it’s not yellowpages.com

This just out in CNET – a UK company, Independent International Investment Research PLC, (IIIR) has disclosed that it is considering filing a lawsuit over the use of the name ‘gmail.’

It turns out that IIIR has been using the name g-mail for it’s own subsidiary’s product since May 2002, two full years before Google launched gmail. As such it has some pre-existing rights to the gmail name.

Apparently, Google’s been in negotiations with IIIR since approximately 15 months, so this cannot be viewed as a frivolous lawsuit.

This is the second such infringement action against Google for its email / gmail product. A German company, Giersch Ventures, successfully received a temporary court order which forced Google to change the name of Google’s email product to “Google Mail” in Germany.

According to Advertising Age, (don’t worry, free registration), Geico has begun sending companies warning letters, threatening to sue any company which buys its Trademark name as a search engine advertising term.

Basically, in the wake of the legal settlement of the case between Geico and Google, Geico is now proceeding to threaten all competitors.

This appears to be a case where if Geico cannot legally get the search engines to cease selling their Trademark, then perhaps they can threaten competitors. (?)

Will it work. Nope.

While the full terms of Geico’s settlement are not disclosed, this action indicates that Geico has fully abandoned hopes of ever getting Google, Yahoo, or any other advertising network to cease selling advertising based on Geico’s name.

So if they can’t win in court, maybe they can intimidate their competition (?)

This logic kind of sounds like the Canadian CRTC, which has successfully enshrined into law that it is legal to own a U.S. satellite dish, but it is illegal to use it.