Back in April 2009 — before the incredible rise of Android had really picked up steam — Google’s mobile operating system faced a challenger that had almost nothing to do with cell phones. Erich Specht, a man who ran a data company called Android Data from 1998 through 2002, came forward to say that Google was infringing on his trademark by using the name ‘Android’, and he wanted a payout of $94 million from Google, Android Inc, and the Open Handset Alliance.
The order, which you can read below, gives a timeline of how Specht’s companies came to acquire the Android trademark, and then subsequently lost it.
Specht created the Android Data Software Suite, which he licensed from 1998 through 2002 to three clients, generating some $600,000. He filed for the Trademark ANDROID DATA with the USPTO in June 2000, and it was granted in October 2002.
Unfortunately 2002 proved to be a bad year for the company — all of its clients either stopped licensing the software or went under, and Android Data essentially shut down as Specht attempted to sell its assets and abandoned the Android Data mark. It lay dormant for years until someone tipped Specht off to Google’s use of “Android”, and he threw up a quick website to ‘prove’ that he was still using the mark. Obviously the court didn’t buy it.
source: techcrunch.com/
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