Google is apparently having trouble putting a trademark on the word “Glass.” Yes, Glass. You know, Google's head-mounted smart device. Not that thing you drink water out of every single day.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the company submitted an application last year for a trademark on the word, but was blocked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark examiners felt that a patent on "Glass" would be confusing for consumers, noting also that the word is "merely descriptive" rather than "distinctive" and, thus, does not deserve a trademark.
But Google, which has already trademarked the term “Google Glass," isn't ready to give up. The company's trademark lawyers wrote a tome of a response letter and submitted it to the trademark office in September, per the Journal.
As CNET points out, Google isn't the first tech company to try trademarking a generic term. Facebook attempted to get a patent on the word "book" and currently has trademarks on "F," "Face," "FB," "Wall" and "Facepile."
Google may also be having a difficult time getting people to jump on board with its bold device. Negative reactions to Google Glass seem to make headlines every other week. In January, a woman was given a ticket for driving with her device, another was assaulted in a bar over hers in February and several bars and restaurants in California have banned the device altogether.
In response to all the bad press surrounding its much-hyped device, Google released a "Google Glass Myths" guide to shed some positive light on the technology. But even that effort was met with mixed reactions.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the company submitted an application last year for a trademark on the word, but was blocked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark examiners felt that a patent on "Glass" would be confusing for consumers, noting also that the word is "merely descriptive" rather than "distinctive" and, thus, does not deserve a trademark.
But Google, which has already trademarked the term “Google Glass," isn't ready to give up. The company's trademark lawyers wrote a tome of a response letter and submitted it to the trademark office in September, per the Journal.
As CNET points out, Google isn't the first tech company to try trademarking a generic term. Facebook attempted to get a patent on the word "book" and currently has trademarks on "F," "Face," "FB," "Wall" and "Facepile."
Google may also be having a difficult time getting people to jump on board with its bold device. Negative reactions to Google Glass seem to make headlines every other week. In January, a woman was given a ticket for driving with her device, another was assaulted in a bar over hers in February and several bars and restaurants in California have banned the device altogether.
In response to all the bad press surrounding its much-hyped device, Google released a "Google Glass Myths" guide to shed some positive light on the technology. But even that effort was met with mixed reactions.