31 December 2009 | Author: D. Warburton Search Copywriter

Google loses domain name case

In a break from tradition, Google has lost a case it filed against a Canadian company using the domain name Groovle.com, which the Mountain View giant claimed was too similar to its own brand.

The National Arbitration Forum rejected Google's request that the domain name be handed over to their company, with the three judges deciding that the name was not similar enough to lead to confusion.

Groovle.com, operated by small Canadian company 207 Media, is powered by Google and despite allegations that its domain name plays on familiarity with the Google name, the judges stated that the word 'groovle' was more directly related to 'groovy' or 'groove' than 'Google.'

Groovle.com is a tool that allows users to create customised homepages and webpages by uploading their images onto the site, and also operates a search engine. The entrepreneurs behind the website stated that they have operated Groovle.com for more than two and a half years without any previous complaint being made by Google. However, the search giant claimed that the business had registered the domain name in "bad faith," believing it to have a "legitimate" interest. The judges refused to examine these additional claims following their decision.

The BBC reports that this is only the second time Google has lost a case it has filed concerning domain names, with 63 cases having been successful. The previous incident was in 2004, when Google lost its case against Richard Wolfe, owner of froogles.com, who convinced an arbitration panel that his site could not be confused with the search engine.

Google's competitor Microsoft was also recently issued with a lawsuit over use of the name Bing for its search engine, with Missouri-based company Bing! Information Design claiming that Microsoft was damaging its business. Microsoft's lawyers were confident that the lawsuit would be rejected, believing there to be little ambiguity between the companies.