So, what kind of beef could Google possibly have with a small group of Polish poets? The kind that’s bad enough to spur the search giant to file for legal action against them.
The "Grupa Mlodych Artystow i Literatow" (or "Group of Young Artists and Writers," aka GMAiL) purchased the domain name "gmail.pl" late last year.
Izabela Krawczyk of GMAiL was surprised to see that the domain name was still available.
Google argues that GMAiL has no rights to the domain name, which virtually mirrors the stateside domain name "gmail.com."
Since Google unleashed Gmail to the general public a few weeks ago, after keeping the e-mail service limited to those who received invitations, the company has been pursuing domain names in other countries. It is unknown why the company waited so long to do this.
Google has taken up this issue with the IT and telecommunications court in Poland in order to take the domain name away from GMAiL.
GMAiL strongly asserts that they did not have any financial motives in mind when it purchased the domain, and that it is using the name for purely benevolent purposes. The organization attempts to give unknown writers and poets more exposure.
"Our site has a use. There’s no financial gain involved. And we’re not competing with the U.S. company, Krawczyk said.
Though the surface of the situation makes it easy to side with the small band of Polish writers, it does seem that Google has a legitimate argument to make here.
It has happened in the past, so it’s not farfetched to expect Google to eventually offer a sum of money in order to grab hold of the domain name that they feel is so rightfully theirs. Despite their present staunch stance on retaining the domain name for its kind purposes, a large check could quickly change the minds of the leaders of GMAiL.
Small start-ups are not the only ones who can try their hand at being the target of a lucrative Google buy-out. Quick domain-squatters can get into the game, too.
Sources:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070216/tc_afp/
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