Google Loses Out In Dispute Over "oogle" Domain

[engine]

Google Loses Out In Dispute Over "oogle" Domain [thenextweb.com]

Yesterday, a panel decided that Google failed to show that the disputed domain was registered in bad faith, which basically means its current owner gets to keep it.

The panel had its doubt about Neuman’s claims, but ultimately decided to let him keep the domain name because it says Google didn’t own any trademark registrations for the mark at the time of registration and had received ‘only limited media attention’ by that time.

[lucy24]

Whew. This reminds me a lot of the McDonald's corporation thinking it has universal global ownership of the "Mc" prefix.

I wandered off for some wholly random experimenting and landed squarely on

www.boogle.com
followed by
www.froogle.com (redirects)

This does not apply to all monosyllabic names ending in "oogle". Some of my random choices don't even seem to have been picked up by a name squatter. (!) But it was an eye-opener all the same.

[bill]

Apparently the saga isn't over yet. Their are other avenues GG could pursue to get this domain.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Google should have paid him 600,000 in 2009 when they had the chance. Now they will spend more than that in legal fees trying and they look like bullies doing it.

[Solution1]

Apparently, the domain www.oogle.com was first registered in Februari 1999. I remember telling a colleague about the new Google search engine in October 2001 (checked my resume for that). The colleague found Google to be quite fast, compared to AltaVista.

This guy who registered the domain must have been very early, knowing about Google. That's more than 2 1/2 years before I told that colleague.

[Webwork]

Apparently oogle is a common mispelling of "ogle". (+1 for me thinking the word, as I heard it pronounced in my youth, was spelled oogle.)

The Bing dictionary defines "ogle" as:

1. stare at somebody desirously: to look at somebody for sexual enjoyment or as a way of showing sexual interest
2. desirous look: a prolonged flirtatious or desirous look at somebody

I distinctly remember my mom, who was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., using the phrase "They (the men/boys) want to go ogle at girls."

Go ogle -> Google.

Hmmm . . I see room for confusing similarity to one of my mom's trademark phrases, "Go ogle at girls". Therefore I declare GOogle is mine! All mine!

Call me, maybe, mom so we can discuss.

[graeme_p]

Google was incorporated in 1998. I remember noticing that its predecessor, Backrub, had disappeared.

From my memory it was reasonably well known by 2000.

Google did not have a trademark, and they cannot show that he registered in bad faith. The owner of oogle.com has never used it deceptively and he did not try to sell it until ten years after registering.

I can understand why Google wants it (it is an obvious typo for Google), but the panel is right, and it is good to see them not bending to corporate firepower.

[lexipixel]

When you ogle girls, some look better when you wear beer-goggles, ( [en.wikipedia.org...] ). Lest I digress, it's boggling and I sometimes think I need goggles when I read the oodles of news stories about lawyers barking like poodles about things like google versus oogle.

[incrediBILL]

Reminds me of Radio Shack trying to sue anyone using the word SHACK in their name like they owned the term.

"Go ogle at girls"

My mom taught me to just talk to the girls instead of staring at them. That way you don't have to get a fancy degree in order to buy a German sports car before one of them will ogle you back.

www.froogle.com

Used to be Google products, was already owned by Google.

Bottom line is Google must think they're losing a ton of money from typo traffic that misses the first G which is just silly as we'll correct that mistake and try again.

Elcome to Oogle.com, eeling ucky?

[lexipixel]

On Google, Google ranks #2 for the search "oogle".

On Bing, Google ranks #1 for the term.

Strange but true.

[loner]

Apparently the saga isn't over yet. Their are other avenues GG could pursue to get this domain.

Yes, they can quit their sniveling and buy it if they want it.