From Google to just plain google

[Jonny R]

One of Google's worst fears may have been realised. The latest edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary includes the word "google" which means to use the well-known search engine to look for information on the web.


The entry means that in addition to being a proper noun, the word "google" - without capitalisation of the "g" - is now a common transitive verb.
In the latest publicly available filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission made available earlier this week, Google identified the key risks it faced in seeking to maintain its dominance in the search market and preserving its revenue growth rate.


Among the risks listed by Google in its what is called the Q-10 filing was a concern that there may be a downside to too much success.
To quote Google: "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."

Full Article Here

[LesStrat]

Interesting development.

[Kac]

Dear Google,

Get over it.

Rock On ~ Kac

[Jonny R]

Well...it would seriously affect their expanding business portfolio...in terms of branding.

[HamerPlyr]

The next bandaid. Their concern is a very real one, but I think that Coke has managed to fight their way through it.

[ratherdashing]

Google's execs are very clever and at times very devious (though not in an illegal/Enron sense). I'm sure they have something planned.

[D-EJ915]

well it is sort of a misspelling of 'googol' so whatever.

[KoreanGuitarMan]

Dear Google,

Get over it.

Rock On ~ Kac

This is more serious than you might think.

If someone wants to make a buck off of your brand image or your work, if you don't have trademark or copyright protection, there isn't anything you can do about it. Your brand image (which has taken years to establish) diminishes which means fewer hits, less revenue, and lots of layoffs. To a multi-million dollar corporation such as Google this is a very big deal.

That being said, it's unlikely that Google will lose their trademark protection. Using the transitive verb form of google still refers to using the search engine Google. When someone says, "I'll google it," they're not going to MSN or Yahoo for their search.

[Blue Calx]

I wonder if the verb "to photoshop" will ever bring about the same concerns over at Adobe.