A regional court in the northern city of Hamburg upheld a claim by a local businessman who said he had been using the name “G-Mail” for an electronic mail service he had been developing since 2000 – years before Google launched its hugely popular global mail service.
The court said Google may not use the Gmail brand in Germany. Google had sued the entrepreneur in an effort to have him stop using the name.
It is not yet clear whether Google will appeal the decision, which culminated a three year legal battle. The entrepreneur also has suits pending against him in Switzerland, Portugal and Spain.
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