When Google launched its parent company Alphabet, many were puzzled why the search engine giant decided to give it a domain name abc.xyz instead of using the more common .com top-level domain. As it appears, the Alphabet.com domain is already taken by German automotive manufacturer BMW and the company has no plan of selling it to Google.
According to The New York Times, BMW also holds the trademark for Alphabet. In fact, more than 103 trademarks in the United States alone uses the word Alphabet or at least some variations of the word.
Days after Google's announcement, BMW released its own version of Google alphabet and used a tagline that reads, "Because Alphabet is more than a name to us." Additionally, Internet trolls also opened a domain abc.wtf and redirected it to Bing which is widely considered as Google's rival.
BMW's Alphabet is a subsidiary that offers services to companies that has large fleets of vehicle. Currently, the company operates in 18 countries and provides service to at least 530,000 vehicles from its customers.
BMW spokeswoman Micaela Sandstede said, "We are not planning to sell the domain." The spokeswoman added that the Alphabet.com domain is "very active" and plays a major part in BMW's Alphabet business. Currently, BMW is reviewing whether Google violate any trademark infringement following the release of its parent company Alphabet.
According to Business Insider, a trademark infringement violation only occurs when a certain brand causes consumer confusion especially when delivering two same product or service. Business analysts said that Google's Alphabet will only violate BMW's Alphabet trademark if the former started to market the same services and product.