Some brand names and trademarks have become generic words. “Hoovering" (brand name Hoover) in the UK is the generic word for vacuum cleaning. Aspirin (trademark
of Bayer) has become a generic term to refer to any OTC painkiller.
Google is facing a similar dilemma. “To Google” nowadays refers
to searching the internet – regardless of the search engine used. (I often joke
that Descartes would have stated: “I can be googled, therefore I exist”)
Google addressed this threat its brand name in its IPO
filing. Under the intellectual property heading of the risks section it said:
“We also face risks associated with our trademarks. For example, there is a
risk that the word “Google” could become so commonly used that it becomes
synonymous with the word “search.” If this happens, we could lose protection
for this trademark, which could result in other people using the word “Google”
to refer to their own products, thus diminishing our brand.”
Google is therefore keeping track of the dangers of its
brand name becoming generic. That’s why they objected to the Swedish term “ogooglebar”
(“something that you can't find on the web with the use of a search engine”).
Google demanded that the Language Council of Sweden would change the term to
“something you can’t find on the web with the use of Google search”.
The Language Council of Sweden refused and decided to drop
the term "ungoogleable" from its list of new words. According to the Council’s
spokesperson Ann Cederberg, “engaging Google's lawyers took too much time and
resources." According to her, the Council therefore opted to remove the
phrase from its 2012 list of new words. She furthermore stated that
"ungoogleable" is already a popular word in Sweden. Google will therefore have a uphill battle to stop
Swedes from using it.
For Google, it’s a Catch-22 for Google. They are on one hand
the most popular brand associated with web searching. But on the other hand,
Google want to protect its brand to prevent it from becoming a generic word.
Personally, I agree with Google. After investing so much
time and efforts in building its brand, Google is entitled to its brand name.
Do you agree with me? Or do you think that it is already out
of Google’s hands? Please let me know!
