<div>BMW on Tuesday said it was looking into whether Google infringed any trademark rights after the Silicon Valley-based group set up a new company called Alphabet, which is also the name of a BMW subsidiary.<br /><br />"We are examining whether there are any implications over trademarks," a BMW spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The spokeswoman said there were currently no plans to take legal steps against Google.<br /><br />BMW's Alphabet, which provides services to companies with vehicle fleets, operates in 18 countries and supplies 530,000 vehicles to corporate customers.<br /><br />Google was not immediately available for comment. A legal dispute is unlikely since Google made clear in its announcement on Monday that in creating a parent company called Alphabet Inc, it was not intending to build products and brands under that name.<br /><br />Google has picked a name that is also a fairly common brand among American businesses. There are currently 103 trademark registrations in the United States that include the word "alphabet" or some close variation, according to a database search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.<br /><br />To prove a trademark infringement, a trademark owner would have to show that the new Alphabet created a "likelihood of confusion" among consumers between the two brands. This could occur if both brands offered similar goods and services.<br /><br /><br /></div>
<div>BMW on Tuesday said it was looking into whether Google infringed any trademark rights after the Silicon Valley-based group set up a new company called Alphabet, which is also the name of a BMW subsidiary.<br /><br />"We are examining whether there are any implications over trademarks," a BMW spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The spokeswoman said there were currently no plans to take legal steps against Google.<br /><br />BMW's Alphabet, which provides services to companies with vehicle fleets, operates in 18 countries and supplies 530,000 vehicles to corporate customers.<br /><br />Google was not immediately available for comment. A legal dispute is unlikely since Google made clear in its announcement on Monday that in creating a parent company called Alphabet Inc, it was not intending to build products and brands under that name.<br /><br />Google has picked a name that is also a fairly common brand among American businesses. There are currently 103 trademark registrations in the United States that include the word "alphabet" or some close variation, according to a database search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.<br /><br />To prove a trademark infringement, a trademark owner would have to show that the new Alphabet created a "likelihood of confusion" among consumers between the two brands. This could occur if both brands offered similar goods and services.<br /><br /><br /></div>