Businessman hangs on to G-Mail name
Publish date: 21 March 2007
Issue Number: 1175
Diary: Legalbrief eLaw
Category: Domains
The German businessman behind trademark cases that could wreck Google\'s e-mail branding across Europe would refuse millions of dollars for the G-Mail trademark he owns.
Out-Law.com says that the man has already turned down a Google offer of $250 000. Daniel Giersch is a venture capitalist who also owns and runs a physical and electronic postal service in Germany called G-Mail. His trademark lawyer Sebastian Eble said that money would not be able to buy Giersch\'s compliance with Google\'s wishes. Giersch won a preliminary injunction then a full injunction to stop Google calling its Web based e-mail service Gmail in Germany, making it the only country apart from the UK in which the service is not called Gmail. A similar case in the UK has forced Google into branding the service Google Mail here. Full Out-Law.com report
