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ARTICLE · 18 JUNE 2012

Is It Proper To Say You Google On GOOGLE®?

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
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Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

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Do you "google?" That is the essence of the question before the Federal District Court in Arizona in a Complaint filed on May 21, 2012.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Geri Haight
Geri Haight
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Do you "google?" That is the essence of the question before the Federal District Court in Arizona in a Complaint filed on May 21, 2012 by David Elliott against Internet search engine giant Google, Inc. In Elliot v Google, Inc., CV-12-1072-PHX-MHB, Elliot claims that Google's once distinctive mark GOOGLE® has become generic and lacks trademark significance due to its common use as a transitive verb. After losing to Google in UDRP proceedings involving many "Google-related" domain name registrations that he owns, Elliott now seeks a declaratory judgment that his domain names are rightfully his, that they do not infringe any trademark rights Google may own, and that all Google's registered GOOGLE® marks should be cancelled since "google" is now a common generic word worldwide that means "to search the Internet."

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