Google and the law

I hear they're quite a nice bunch, really...

[altyfc]

What's the score with Google and sites like Googley.com, registrants of Gooooogle.com and the like. Also what about people who have extremely similar designs... could someone legitimately set up a search engine like Woogle, for instance, but be allowed to use the same font/drop shadow for the main logo....? At what point does it cease to be a copy or regarded as passing off?

Thanks...

[lazerzubb]

I'm not sure, you can't take a patent or copyright on the design in that way, you can pretty much create exactly the same design as Google but with a code that looks comtletly different.

And when it comes to similar names, they really don't seem to care to much, i remember there was a list published in an article from Holland some time ago which listed hundreds of domains which was similar to Google's but i think very little was done, i know people registered froogle domains the same day as it was announced, and funny enought Google could have registered all the domains they wanted but they didn't!

[altyfc]

Don't suppose you can recall where I could see a copy of this list...?

Thanks...

[RossWal]

Someone (one of the more popular bloggers maybe?) had a knockoff of the Google page, which, as I recall, was used for something other than general web search. He even had a comment that he copied Google's simplicity. By the time I saw it he had redesigned the page and posted a link to a legal note he had received from Google. This was 6-8 months ago and I'm fuzzy on the details. But it looked like Google, and they said "take it down".

Ross

[aus_dave]

Don't think this is it but try [qooqle.com...]