Generic Use of “Google” As a Verb Does Not Invalidate Trademark

In Elliott et al. v. Google Inc., Case No. CV-12-1072 (U.S. District Court, D. Arizona, order entered September 10, 2014), the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona held that the primary significance of the term “Google” to a majority of the Internet-searching public was to refer to the Google search engine specifically, rather than as a descriptive term for search engines generally. This was so even if “google” is widely used as a generic verb, regardless of whether Google’s search engine is being used. The court opined that “a trademark performs its statutory function so long as it distinguishes a product or service from those of others and indicates the product’s or service’s source.” The court concluded that plaintiff had failed to present conclusive evidence that the primary meaning of “google” was as a generic verb rather than as an indicator of the origin of the services at issue.