The trademarking story of the year so far has been the well documented (and quite possibly ludicrous) story of King.com trademarking the word “Candy”. Google looks like it could be moving in the same direction as Google is trying to trademark the word “Glass” (in relation to its Google Glass product) with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office however the bid isn’t going so well.
The USPTO is holding up Google’s application because of two main objections. The first of which is that the world “Glass” is already included in existing and future tech-related applications and fears consumers will be confused. The second objection was raised because “merely descriptive” words such as “Glass” do not have protection under federal law. These objections were raised with Google late last year and Google replied about two weeks ago. Naturally, they believe both objections are unnecessary; Google thinks consumers will not be confused with trademarks as Google Glass has already had such a large media presence. Regarding the second objection, Google says that a name does not necessarily “inform potential consumers as to the nature, function or use†of a product, nor is the name “Glass” simply descriptive seeing as it is constructed from titanium and plastic.
Patent and trademark news normally does my head in, but this is definitely a very important story in the tech world that could have far-reaching implications. Interestingly, Google already has the trademark for “Google Glass” which means Google is seeking this additional trademark in the hopes of perhaps simplifying their marketing and becoming synonymous simply with the world “Glass”.
What do we think about this trademark case? Do you think companies should be allowed to trademark single words like “Candy” and “Glass”? Let us know what your opinion is in the comments below.
Source: Wall Street Journal via TalkAndroid
