Google’s attempt to trademark the word “Glass” gets shot down

The United States government is taking exception to Google’s attempt to trademark the word “Glass.” The search giant applied for the trademark last year, but The Wall Street Journal reports the US Patent and Trademark Office objected on two grounds. Firstly, that it would cause confusion between Google’s product and other software and hardware trademarks that use the word and secondly, that the word “glass” is “merely descriptive.” Generic terms generally can’t be trademarked under federal law.

GoogleGOOG +0.18% is trying to register the word “Glass” as a trademark for its computer-powered glasses. But so far, the company and the U.S. trademark office aren’t seeing eye to eye. Google, which has successfully trademarked the term “Google Glass,”  submitted an application last year for a trademark on just the single word “Glass,” displayed with the same futuristic font used in its marketing campaign. But the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is holding up the company’s bid. In a letter to the company last fall, a trademark examiner raised two main objections. One concern was that the trademark was too similar to other existing or pending computer software trademarks that contain the word “glass,” creating a risk of consumer confusion.