Gmail Kerfuffle

Interesting copyright dispute. A downright Rechtsstreit.

Gmail (yes, regular old Gmail) cannot be used directly in Germany.

If you have Deutsch settings on your search engines, they will take you here


And the reason is here....

At first, I thought, "That is dumb." But, in fact, the name "Gmail" is taken in Germany. And, if you just linked German searches for "gmail" to the American Gmail....well, that's not right either. If the guy owns the trademark in Germany, then he owns it. You can't use a link to bypass his business, in case people are actually looking for the German "G-mail."

So, Herr Giersch, I see your point, and you are correct, sir.

Still, it's a hassle. I think I'll demand a 50% refund from Google....

UPDATE: Luc points out, in comments, that Google Mail solves the problem. And, of course, it does. But I thought it didn't, because I could NOT sign on in Germany. At least, I could not sign on using a German KEYBOARD. The @ sign and the # sign are in different places, and they must have a different digital hex address on the keyboard. Or something. Because when I changed my google password, getting rid of the odd symbols, now Google Mail Dland works fine.