Chinese company suing Google over name

A Chinese company is suing Google's China subsidiary for copying its name, saying the US search engine's registered Chinese name is too similar to its own and has harmed its operations.

A spokesman for Beijing Guge Science and Technology said similarities between its name and Google's commercial name have created confusion among people who, in trying to contact the search engine, mistakenly call Beijing Guge's office and disrupt work there.

"We just want Google to change their commercial name," Tian Yunshan, a company official, told Reuters on Friday. "We have already passed our demands on to Google... We will see what happens in court."

The search engine's Chinese name — a transliteration of the English word "Google" — was also used in Beijing Guge's commercially registered name, Tian said.

People searching for Google through a local telephone directory assistance service were invariably directed to Beijing Guge because the search engine was not listed, Tian explained.

The case has been accepted by a court in Beijing's Haidian district, the Beijing News reported. It was not immediately clear if the case has any chance of success.

Tian declined to comment on Beijing Guge's operations or its products or services, saying it was "not convenient" to disclose such details.

A Google representative contacted by telephone declined to confirm the lawsuit and said she was unable to provide immediate comment.

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