Google vs. Sweden Over "Ogooglebar"

Every December, Sweden's Language Council issues a list of new words. The year 2012 brought the word "ogooglebar," which means "ungoogleable." Google objected, noting that its name is a trademark, and shouldn't be used in an unauthorized manner.

Exasperated, Sweden's Language Council director Ann Cederberg opted to delete the word from the list because she had "neither the time nor the inclination to pursue the lengthy process that Google is trying to launch."

But this is the Interweb - and rather than letting the matter slide into obscurity, the Streisand Effect has been invoked. Now, "ogooglebar" is spreading. As Cederberg wrote (and Google translated)

"Google has forgotten one thing: language development does not care about brand protection. No individual can decide the language. Whoever in the future googling ogooglebar will not only find the wording that Google wanted to change, and that will remain online despite that Language Council amended the list. Anyone looking will also find all the comments that follow after the news spread that word was removed. That is how the Internet works."

One thing's for sure. Irony is not ogooglebar. Quartz has the story: Link


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Going in to my everyday vocabulary this instant.. I hate this big corps patent-life movement. If oxygen would be invented now it would be illegal to breathe it with out Apples permission..
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You can tell a corporation or system has gone bad when they start retributing to anything that even remotely questions their almightiness with demonstrations of absolute power.
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