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<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2>It is perfectly legitimate for Google
to get its lawyers involved in protecting its name. This is a trademark
issue. I don't know how things are done in Germany, but in the U.S., when a
trademark holder thinks someone else is using their trademark improperly, they
would get their lawyers to approach the offending party and request that they
correct the misuse. If that doesn't work, they would go to court. There are
precedents for this. I remember reading an article in Verbatim on this subject
years ago. Trademark owners of brand names like Coke and Kleenex fight very
hard to keep control over their names. If they fail to exercise tight
control, then the names can end up in the public domain. They
definitely do not see it in their best interest to let their trademarked names
become synonymous with "soft drink," "tissue" or "search engine."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2>On the other hand, it seem ridiculous
to me for McDonalds to turn to Parliament to get a dictionary to change its
definition of McJob. I have never heard of interest groups lobbying the
government to get a dictionary definition changed, not that that means it
couldn't have happened. If McDonalds thinks they hold the trademark for anything
that begins with "Mc," then they can take their case to a court that deals with
trademarks, but I don't think they have much of a case.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2>I remember a
news segment about McDonalds on the American television program
60 Minutes several years ago. The reporters interviewed a family in Scotland
named McDonald who was being sued by the hamburger makers for trademark
infringement. I know this sounds crazy, but there is more to the story than I
can remember, so don't quote me unless you can check it out.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2>Margaret, I thought at first you were
going to say that Dan Quayle tried to pass a law changing the spelling of
"potato." (There's a story behind that that you may not be familiar
with.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2>-- David
Frank</FONT></DIV>
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