Independent International Investment Research, a British company, is threatening to use legal action against Google for their right to use the Gmail name.


Independent International Investment Research, a British research company says that it had launched a web-based email service also called G-Mail in May 2002, almost 2 years before Google launched their version. IIIR specializes in research for several investment banks and requested the development of G-Mail in order for their clients to share this information confidentially.

The company had been in correspondence with Google for some 15 months but an agreement had not reached. The company’s report says,

“As mentioned above, an independent valuation report was commissioned by the Group, in order to respond to Google’s request for a proposed selling price. Valuation Consulting’s estimate of the valuation of the trade mark is materially affected by Google’s absolute size and rate of growth, and drew upon data for the trading performance of Google available in December 2004. The report is available for consultation at http://www.iirgroup.com (see “Press Releases”)”.

The Board anticipates that since Google has launched Google Talk it may now change the name of Gmail to establish some uniformity in branding across product lines.

The report also says, “Furthermore, the Board recognises that it has limited resources at its disposal to pay the costs of protracted legal proceedings, especially compared to Google’s substantial resources”.

To read the full report click here.

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