May 3, 2009, 3:45 pm
Illinois-based developer and businessman Erich Specht has filed a lawsuit against Google, the Open Handset Alliance, T-Mobile, and 45 other companies for trademark infringement. Specht, who runs a software firm named Android Data, is seeking almost $100 million in damages from the defendants for creating, supporting, and selling devices with Google’s Android OS.
Specht’s company creates software that “implements advanced caching algorithms that allow for greater efficiency of web and database servers,” and Specht claims that he chose the name Android Data in order to communicate the “almost robot-like” communication of data between a client and data center. He originally filed the trademark application for his company name in 2000, and was awarded the trademark in 2002 by the US Patent and Trademark Office. When the USPTO granted his application, it noted that no application would be granted the exclusive right to use “Data,” therefore making “Android” the dominant word in the trademark.
