Google accused Goojje (above) of infringing on its trademark rights, saying the logo of the Chinese website could make users believe it was authorised by or linked to the US company.
When you google the word 'goojje', though, you'll come across the first site (with Chinese characters) & it shall bring you to http://dierqi.com/. I'd have expected the website address is simply http://goojje.com.
Anyway, what I'm curious about is how Google is able to enforce their threat against the artful copycat Goojje. See, I doubt Chinese government will bother to entertain Google's demand. Remember about 4 weeks ago, Google made the dramatic announcement that it will no longer censor its search results in China, even if that means exiting that huge Internet market. The decision, Google said, was prompted by its discovery that a China-originated attack let malicious hackers steal Google intellectual property and partially break into the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. (More in ComputerWorld, "After China pull-out bluster, will Google backtrack?")
Google can bark, but it can't bite...at least not in China.
GOOGLE has warned a copycat Chinese website to stop using a logo that resembles the US Internet giant's or face possible legal action, state media reported on Monday.
The warning issued to the 'Goojje' website comes as Google is contemplating its future in China after saying it would no longer obey government censorship rules and could pull out entirely over alleged cyberattacks.
Google accused Goojje of infringing on its trademark rights, saying the logo of the Chinese website could make users believe it was authorised by or linked to the US company, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.
In a letter sent to Goojje by Google's lawyers, the US Internet firm demanded the Chinese site stop using the logo by Monday, the report said.
Reports have said Goojje was launched last month by a 20-strong team led by a college student identified only by the surname Wen, after Google issued its threat to pull out from China. The operators of Goojje have posted vague statements on the website construed by some media as offering support for Google.
Goojje's homepage imitates Google's design and its Chinese name ends with a character that means 'big sister'. Google's Chinese name, meanwhile, ends with a character that is a homonym for 'big brother'.
From Straits Times, "Google warns Goojje". (08/02/10)
If imitation is the best form of flattery, Google has been paid the ultimate compliment by a group of 20 fans paying homage with copycat search engine goojje.com, a site currently racking up a million clicks a day.
Upon hearing the news that google.cn would possibly pull out from the Chinese market on January 12, the group, comprised of both students and professionals from a QQ discussion forum, decided on creating the online tribute.
"We didn't want google. cn to leave us, so we built this website in commemoration. If google-fans feel lonely when google.cn leaves, they can visit our site and feel not so lonely," he said. Xiaoxuan, a member of the goojje.com operation and handling press relations, told the Global Times.
Organized by a 20-year-old university sophomore surnamed Wen, googjje.com officially registered its domain name and was up on January 14.
However, the site refused to provide any more information about its founder, explaining that at present she is reluctant to comment.
Designed in similar white background and simple format, the "jj" added to the col-ored logo stands for "jiejie" or "sister," a pun on the Chinese translation of google, "gu ge," the "ge" sounding like the word "brother."
Also different from "brother google," the logo also sports the blue paw print logo of baidu. com, the second database from which goojje.com draws its search results. The site hopes "to combine the strong points of both engines into their searches"
Although the page has several features such as news and polls, it also features a forum focused on creating an online community of google fans, according to Xiaoxuan.
"We chat, make friends and introduce goojje to more and more people. I think it is a good thing."
And so does its growing community. Goojje is quickly expanding, now with more than 150 people on staff, 80 of them university students hailing from such top-tier schools as Peking University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
An additional 2,000 applicants are also looking to sign up from all over the country, as well as some studying abroad in the US and Germany.
When asked to comment on the site, Google spokesman Lynn Lin issued a one sentence statement reading "The site is not affiliated with Google."
But Google doesn't seem to have any reason to worry. These fans are just showing their love for their digital "brother."
"Making a profit is not the aim in opening the website," Xiaoxuan said. "We just want to have fun, and make every visitor feel at home," he said.
From Global Times, "Student starts Google copycat search engine". (02/02/10)
