Google sued over Android name

Internet giant Google, along with the Open Handset Alliance and 45 other companies, are being sued over the name “android” being given to the company’s open-source mobile operating system.

Erich Specht, who runs businesses in the US trading as the Android Data Corporation and Android’s Dungeon, was awarded trademark rights to the android name five years ago by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Specht has developed software and applications with the name, but Google was rejected by the PTO for use of the name in February 2008. Google’s use of the name originates from when the company acquired a small business that made mobile phone software.

Specht has filed a complaint with the Federal Court in Chicago, saying Google’s Android system may confuse and deceive his own customers. He requests a ban on Google using the name and $US2 million in damages.

Defendants in the case include Motorola, T-Mobile, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Toshiba, which are all part of Google’s Open Handset Alliance.