Add a Little Google to Your Business Cards

BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

•  
  1

  PlasticPrinters

  02/13/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Add a Little Google to Your Business Cards

  Cool idea, but could you get sued by Google for doing something like this?

•  
  2

  BizHacksRick

  02/13/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Add a Little Google to Your Business Cards

  You know, I was wondering that myself. Obviously if you're a Fortune 500 company, this kind of thing would be a no-no. But for smaller shops, I can't imagine running into any legal trouble.
  
  Any lawyers out there know if there's any kind of copyright-infringement risk here?

•  
  3

  BizHacks Dave

  02/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Add a Little Google to Your Business Cards

  Obviously, I am not a lawyer, but I can't imagine how this could be grounds for a lawsuit.
  
  It's not a copyright issue, becuase Google search results are not copyrighted.
  
  It's not a trademark issue, because trademark violations are primarily concerned with using a trademarked logo or symbol which is "identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services which the registration covers." But in this case, you're not trying to give the impression that you have a competing search engine called "Gogle," you're actually reproducing the Google UI.
  
  And the entire Internet is based on the idea of this sort of thing. The business card is, in a sense, just a screen capture of a Google search result. Can you sue me for using a screen capture of a set of Google search results? I hope not; if so, Google is saying no one can use their principle product for the purpose for which it was intended.
  

•  
  4

  the limority report

  02/17/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Add a Little Google to Your Business Cards

  at the very least, isn't this actually HELPFUL to Google, as Google is being advertised on the business card for... free???

•  
  5

  Graphicsman

  02/17/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Add a Little Google to Your Business Cards

  might be good to add a "google images" line so you can get your logo in there as well.

•  
  6

  Nugby

  02/17/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Add a Little Google to Your Business Cards

  I think suing a small Business for using a Card like this would go pretty heavily against Google's "Don't be Evil" Code of Conduct.
  
  http://investor.google.com/conduct.html

•  
  7

  BizHacks Dave

  02/17/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Add a Little Google to Your Business Cards

  Hmm. In my experience, Google is not one iota less evil than any other company out there, regardless of their hippy-senentimentality slogan.

•  
  8

  spanky500

  02/18/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Add a Little Google to Your Business Cards

  Sounds like all I would be doing would be to promote Google...not my business.
  And I'm doing it for free!
  Pretty good scam on googles part to flim flam starry eyed techie fools.