Erich Specht, the owner of a small Illinois-based software company called Android Data Corp, is currently suing Google and the Open Handset Alliance to the tune of $94 million in damages for using the trademarked term “Android”.
“Basically, it’s a stolen name,” says Specht’s attorney, Martin Murphy. “It’s our trademark, and Google is using it as if it’s theirs.”
Along with the $94 million in cash, Specht also requests that all Google’s Android branded products be removed from the market and re-branded under a different name.
Specht first made claims to the Android term back in 1998, and subsequently trademarked “Android Data” in 2002.
Google on the other hand initially applied for the Android trademark in October 2007, but their application was rejected in early 2008 due to the term being too similar to Specht’s original trademark.
Google have subsequently appealed the decision as it appears Android Data Corp was dissolved in 2004.
A court date for the Android trademark case is expected to be announced next week, with a Google spokesperson adding “[we] will defend vigorously against them”.
[via Forbes.com]
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