Domain Registration Related News
Google Versus Froogles Redux
April 2005
Having been rebuffed by an ICANN panel, search
giant Google brought its battle against
Froogles.com to U.S. court.
Google filed a trademark infringement suit against
Richard Wolfe, operator of the relatively tiny
Froogles.com, on Monday. The search provider
complained that consumers could confuse Wolfe's
bargain-shopping site with Google's Froogle and
even the name Google itself -- even though Wolfe
had been using the name Froogles since December
2000. Wolfe applied for trademark protection for
the name in September 2003.
Google launched Froogle in December 2002; it filed
for trademark protection of the term in November
2002. The trademark application was approved in
February 2004 and published to give others a
chance to protest.
Both Wolfe and Stelor Productions, operator of
kid-oriented Web site Googles.com, opposed
granting the trademark. The Trademark Appeals
Board is still considering whether to revoke the
trademark, but Google has asked it to suspend the
opposition proceeding pending the result of a
court trial. Google executives had not responded
to a request for comment by press time.
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