Following a series of news stories concerning the inclusion of the verb 'to google' in various online dictionaries, the company has sought to stop the word being used in a manner that they view as inappropriate. This led to the company's trademark protection lawyers getting involved, and lexicography sites such as Word Spy receiving stiffly worded letters from the firm after having added "google" to their online lexicon. In these letters, Google requested that the definitions be deleted or revised to stand in accordance with the "trade mark status of Google."
But some interested parties, such as lexicographer Sidney Landau, believe that language is organic and constantly changing, with words emerging and being redefined as part of natural usage. She stated:
"Dictionaries should reflect the use of words and their authors shouldn't be afraid to identify that and define it as generic".
Other parties, like Ken Storey of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, support Google's position by pointing out that, "Everyone has the right to protect a trade mark".
Google clarified, "A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device that identifies a particular company's products or services. 'Google' is a trademark identifying Google Inc., and our search technology and services. While we're pleased that so many people think of us when they think of searching the web, let's face it, we do have a brand to protect, so we'd like to make clear that you should please only use 'Google' when you're actually referring to Google Inc. and our services."
So why does Google see this as such a serious problem? For most companies, especially within the online market, the brand image is paramount to achieving success; and as people search for products using brand names rather than simply generic terms, the issue of brand ownership can influence whether a company succeeds or fails in the future. Once a brand name ceases to refer to a single company, the value of that brand name and all the associated marketing spend can erode - as is the case with Hoover. A quick search for "Hoover" on a price comparison site like Pricerunner provides 729 product results from 73 different retailers; however the first actual Hoover brand vacuum cleaner doesn't appear in the listings until almost the bottom of the second page of results. This is a big problem for the once market-dominant company, as it means that despite all their spending to promote their own brand, anyone searching using the specific company brand name will instead be presented with 45 products from other companies before Hoover even make their first appearance.
To this end, Google have now issued a "quick semantic primer" on their official blog, indicating what Google Inc. believe are acceptable ways to use the word 'Google'.
While this may help clear up some potential confusion concerning how the term should be used in the US, it does not address the situation - and is unlikely to change the language habits of the general public - in other countries such as the UK, where the trademark is still pending.
