Google Takes On Froogles

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

27 July 2004

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on Friday rejected a claim put forward by internet search portal, Google that an online shopping service established by New York resident Richard Wolfe is "confusingly similar" in name to its Froogle web shopping service.

Two out of the three judges on the arbitration panel found that Mr Wolfe's site, Froogles.com "creates an entirely new word and conveys an entirely singular meaning from the mark", whilst the third judge agreed with Google's assertion that the smaller site represented a bad-faith attempt to compete with Google.

Separately, however, Mr Wolfe has launched a challenge against Google's attempt to register Froogle with the US Patent and Trademark Office, arguing that it represents an infringement of his Froogles trademark.

"It still amazes me that I should have to go through this at all," he told the Associated Press last week, continuing:

"I started my shopping service called Froogles almost two years before Google started a shopping service called Froogle. What more does anyone need to know?"

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