Illinois programmer sues Google over 'Android'

The owner of an obscure Illinois software development company is suing Google and everyone else in the Open Handset Alliance over their use of the word "Android."

The suit has made public the fact that Google's own attempts to trademark the word have been rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), largely because the software developer, Eric Specht, had been granted a PTO trademark for his company's name, Android Data.

Specht filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, seeking an injunction on Android-branded products, which would include T-Mobile's G1 smartphone, and $94 million in damages for trademark infringement. Besides Google, the Alliance includes a set of blue chip technology firms such as Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, China Mobile, Samsung and Vodafone.

Neither Google nor the OHA has contacted the plaintiff's lawyer, and Google issued only a stock statement that the claims are without merit and will be defended "vigorously," according to a detailed account on Forbes.com.

The 1.5 version of the Linux-based Android software is due to ship this year on new smartphones from Samsung and others. It's also being touted as a platform for the compact, simplified mobile computers dubbed netbooks. China's Skytone Transmission Technologies just began showing off an Android netbook, due for summer release. 

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