The Battle For Gmail.de
Gmail.de is not owned by Google, but by a German venture capitalist who runs a physical and electronic postal service called G-Mail.
Daniel Giersch, who named G-Mail after himself and applied for a German trademark as early as 2000, won a permanent injunction against Google earlier this year, preventing the company from offering Gmail.com email addresses to users with a German IP address.
In Germany, Gmail.com is now known as GoogleMail.com, at least for the time being. A Google representative said:
Google will take the action it deems necessary to protect our interests in Europe.
Giersch is not giving in:
I want this to stop, but not by giving up. I want this to stop only by shutting down Gmail.
Even a $250,000 offer could not convince Giersch to hand over his trademark. His lawyer, Sebastian Eble, said in a recent interview (mp3 file, interview starts at 07:49) with Out-Law.com:
Daniel is a millionaire so you know, €250,000 [sic] is for Daniel not a big amount of money and on your other hand his aim or his goal is to do big business with this G-mail trademark. G-mail is a little bit like Daniel's baby so it was never a question for him to sell his trademark. [...] Even if they would, I don't know, offer him millions I do not think that Daniel would sell it because it is like his little baby, Giersch-mail, so it is named G-mail.
Google had to discover the hard way that this conflict is no longer just about money - it is also about human relations. When Giersch originally heard about Google's beta testing its own Gmail in 2004, he decided to contact them to discuss potential cooperation, but was rebuked.
What does the Archive.org record of Gmail.de have to say about the dispute?
Google first announced Gmail on April 1, 2004. Shortly thereafter, on May 20, 2004, Gmail.de was still being redirected to the Crystal Palace BBS (CPP.de), which apparently no longer exists.
On Oct. 9, 2005, the site went offline and started displaying the following message:
Welcome to Crystal Palace BBS (www.cpp.de)
We make some software-updates… will be back soon..
Thanks for visiting..
At some time between May 29, 2005 and Nov 04, 2005 Gmail.de became a site of its own, announcing the development of a hybrid email and postal mail service. Just in time! Under German trademark law, an applicant has five years to actually start using a mark commercially.
Emboldened by his victory in Germany, Giersch is now also pursuing his plans to protect his G-mail trademark and challenge Google in Norway, Switzerland and Monaco where he hopes to expand his electronic postal delivery business.
Daily Domainer comments:
Looks like Giersch has the upper hand under German law, even though he didn't start using Gmail.de for email related services until 2005. From a domainer's point of view, the market value of Gmail.de (including trademark) is easily in the eight figures ($XX,XXX,XXX) and its value will only appreciate over the years. While Google's measly $250,000 offer looks like a joke, it's very likely that they did not want to set a precedent by making a higher offer for a domain. After all, Gmail.co.uk, Gmail.pl, Gmail.ru, Gmail.in, Gmail.es, Gmail.com.mx and Gmail.com.ar are just a few of the Gmail domains that are not under Google's control… yet.
I think that is only a battle of numbers. Google wants the domain but they offers less than Daniel would like, and Daniel wants a lot of more than Google wants pay.
Daniel know that they need the domain and he is fighting and waiting, the time is all for him because there isn't other similar.
Google must be more quick registring domains the next time.
I suppose Daniel has the upper hand… but if he can't make more than $250,000 in the long run, I guess it's his loss. Personally, I would sell for as much as I could now and retire.
I can't help but side with google. It's weird to say it but I kind of feel sorry for them.
Considering all of those other gmail.* domains were not under Google's control, maybe they don't really need/want Gmail.de… or maybe they should just focus on the other domains.
that is a simple equation.
when you give some money to a millioner, then thats attack in his attitude. google need to offer here more money. or as a milliowner that is a prestige issue.
another way, that is a dream of this person. make a good site with a good name.
Yep, same like Antonio, i think thats just a battle of numbers. Daniel wont give his "baby" to google for "only" 250 000$… Hmm, maybe someday, but with much bigger price…
Is right nightkid3, is a rich baby and he can't sell it, he'll be a bad father if he do for only this numers, he need more money to forget the baby;-)
It is true that Google provide best services; Gmail.com is high quality mail service and I love it, BUT Google think that they can own everything.
It will be interesting to see what will happen with the other gmail domains that are not under Google ownership.
Anyway, It is ridicules Google to win the conflict, when Gmail.de is already other's business. If I start, for instance, gwap.bg (in my case "good wap") service and Google start gwap.com - Google Wap; Google will judge me for my site?
I think Daniel Giersch don't sell gmail it's to low price, but i think google give better offer if them realy need.
Ohhh… I always think that gmail.de owned google :S
On topic: Google must pay much… more to Daniel if they wanna own gmail.de anyway google must registering domains more quickly.
Lucky man in the lucky domain name