really wants to trademark the word “Glass,” but gaining the trademark for such a common word is not an easy task. In fact, the company has already been refused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO,) The Wall Street Journal reveals, although it did receive a trademark for the “Google Glass” term. In a letter to the company, USPTO raised two objections, one related to the fact that the trademark is too similar to existing or pending computer software trademarks that have the word “glass” in it, and one related to the actual word.
“’Glass’ — even with its distinctive formatting — is ‘merely descriptive.’ Words that simply describe a product don’t have trademark protection under federal law — ‘absent a showing of acquired distinctiveness,’” the Journal writes.
Even so, Google will not give up without a serious fight: The company’s lawyers have sent a 1,928-page letter to the examiner defending its request. Of those, 1,903 pages of the latter are clips of articles about Google Glass that are meant to prove the popularity of the device, even though it hasn’t been made available to regular customers just yet. Those 1,903 pages are apparently meant to prove that Glass is a highly recognized product when compared to other similar products. Furthermore, Google says that “Glass” isn’t just “merely descriptive,” as the USPTO claims, as the product itself is not “primarily or significantly composed of the material glass” and that the frame doesn’t have glass at all.
The company is very interested in protecting its product – recently, reports emerged showing the company is actively lobbying against anti-Glass regulation laws for drivers, and Google has also came out with a post on Google+ to debunk Glass myths.
