Trademark Agency Says No to Gmail in Europe

[engine]

As you may have read this week, the Trademark Agency of the European Union, located in Luxembourg, denied Google's bid for the right to use within the EU the name of its popular e-mail program, Gmail.

Despite Google's argument that the two services have little to do with one another, that the two logos look very different and that P1 Private's G-Mail logo also includes a tag line that translates as "… and the mail really takes off," the Trademark Agency ruled for P1, saying that there was too great a "likelihood of confusion."

Trademark Agency Says No to Gmail in Europe [abcnews.go.com]

[lexipixel]

I always wondered why they didn't just give out "@google.com" email accounts considering the Polish Poets problem and the various lawsuits which ensued almost as soon as Gmail was announced.

"Gmail" doesn't help strengthen the Google brand like a "@yahoo.com" account does for Yahoo!