Google might be infringing on BMW's trademark with Alphabet

Since Google is also in the auto industry, it might be causing confusion with a BMW subsidiary

Yesterday came the big news that Google was reorganizing itself, and putting the company, and its other properties under a new umbrella called Alphabet. Google as we know it is going to be completely different.

Now, only a day later we already have our first potential problem with this: it may actually wind up infringing on trademark rights owned by BMW, according to a report out from the New York Times.

BMW owns both the Internet domain Alphabet.com (which may explain why the domain for the new company is, instead, abc.xyz) as well as the trademark Alphabet, which is currently the name of a BMW subsidiary that provides services to corporations with vehicle fleets.

There's some good news and some bad news here for Google.

First, the good news: so far BMW has not decided to take any legal action, though it is looking into whether or not Google is in violation of their trademark. And it may not illegal for the company to use the name, since two companies can be called the same thing.

Here's the bad news: first, BMW made it clear to the Times that it does not want to sell. And secondly, Google may very well be in violation of BMW's trademark due to the fact that this only occurs if it causes confusion between the two companies. And, as we all know, Google has branched out into the auto industry, most notably with its work on the driverless car. That could very well be the thing that sinks it.

As it stands now, Alphabet will become the parent company for Google and its other properties, including YouTube, Nest, Calico, Android, Chrome and others. So, instead of calling everything Google, each division will its own separate company that all report to Alphabet. So current Google CEO Larry Page will no longer be CEO of Google; that role will now be going to Sundar Pichai, the former head of Android, Chrome, and Apps.

The company will be headed by Page, with Google co-founder Sergey Brin as its president. Here is how Page described how they chose the name of the company in his blog post on Monday:

"For Sergey and me this is a very exciting new chapter in the life of Google -- the birth of Alphabet. We liked the name Alphabet because it means a collection of letters that represent language, one of humanity's most important innovations, and is the core of how we index with Google search!" he said.

"We also like that it means alpha-bet (Alpha is investment return above benchmark), which we strive for! I should add that we are not intending for this to be a big consumer brand with related products--the whole point is that Alphabet companies should have independence and develop their own brands."

When contacted, a Google spokesperson would not comment on the report, referring me back to the company's original blog post. VatorNews has also reached out to BMW for comment, and we will update this story if we learn more.

Investors already seem happy with the restructuring, as shares went up 5% in after hours trading on Monday, and then another 4.1%, or $27.16, to $690.3 a share in regular trading on Tuesday.

(Image source: insidebusinessnyc.com)