In 2002, Erich Specht was awarded a trademark for the use of the name Android Data. Now, Specht claims that his company's trademark has been violated by Google's Android operating system.
The Android name was first applied to Sprecht's IT software company. In 2004, the company was dissolved and its URL androiddata.com was lost to another company. And in 2007, Google announced to the world that it was launching Android, an open mobile OS.
In 2008, the US Patent and Trademark Office denied Google the right to the name Android over possible product confusion. Google, however, opted to continue using the name. Specht re-registered a domain for his defunct company and filed a complaint with the trademark office, reading in part:
[I]t is clear that Google stole first and asked questions later... Even though they could have, as they put it, arbitrarily chosen any name to brand their products, Google and the OHA members intentionally and without justification chose to affix Plaintiff's Android mark to their websites, products, services, and press releases without regard to ownership.
Specht has filed suit with all the companies involved in the Android Alliance (48 in total), for damages equaling $2 million. Google, for its part, is ready for a fight. "We believe the complaint has no merit," the company told Ars Technica. "We plan to defend against them vigorously."