Google Sued over Android Name

Erich Specht, owner of Android Data Corp., is looking to take a $100 million bite out of Google (NSDQ: GOOG), and threaten them to pull all Android-branded phones for a do-over. Of course, that kind of big talk is common when it comes to trademark infringement; what’s more likely is that Google will settle out of court and give this Specht guy a boatload of money to just go away. To be fair, Specht has owned the “Android Data” trademark since 2002, and has a somewhat legitimate claim, but that won’t stop Google from continuing to use the name. Before launch Google had wrestled with the patent office to get a hold of Android, but was eventually suspended from further efforts. what took Specht so long? He understandably confused Android software from the hardware – if it was just a phone, he would have no recourse, but since it’s actually an operating system, he’s got grounds to take the fight to Google.

[via Forbes]