Google: Stop using the Groggle brand
Groggle.com.au is a soon-to-be-launched Australian liquor price comparison website. Google had presented the website owners a desist letter demanding them to stop using the brand earlier this month.
According to iTWire, the letter represented by Middletons law firm stated that Google is claiming that "The mark is substantially identical and is deceptively familiar with the Google trademarks which is extremely well known in Australia."
Groggle Pty. Ltd. is based in Brisbane, established by Alec Doughty and Cameron Collie and is preparing to offer an online location-driven alcohol price comparison service. The Groggle project is in the making for more than two years currently in beta and the initiators were looking forward to launch it in a few months time. They were also looking at launching a similar website in the United States within this year.
Also according to iTWire, Google's letter claimed the Groggle name was "likely to mislead and deceive consumers into believing that Groggle has a sponsorship, affiliation or approval with Google, when this is not the case."
The Groggle Pty. Ltd. directors had to meet Google's demands until the 14th of April as stated in the Cease and Desist (C&D), which includes the transfer of all the eight different variations of registered domain names to Google and withdrawing the trademark application.
Google sent a follow-up letter to Groggle Pty. Ltd. on the April 20 warning Doughty and Collie that they have time until 4pm on Thursday, April 29, to meet the terms of the C&D.