TORONTO – It seems Google should have done some more Googling when it came to picking a name for their new holding company, Alphabet Inc.
On Monday, Google announced a radically different operating structure under the new name that would separate its well-known web companies — like its search engine, YouTube, and Chrome — from its research and investment divisions.
READ MORE: Google to be part of new holding company called ‘Alphabet’
But turns out, BMW operates a fleet service by the name of Alphabet. The auto maker also owns the domain Alphabet.com and reportedly has no plans of giving it up to Google.
Alphabet chose abc.xyz as the URL for its domain – a choice that proved very popular with the tech crown online.
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According to Business Insider, BMW is already looking into whether there are any trademark implications with Google’s new identity; however, a company spokesperson noted there are currently no plans to take legal action against the tech giant.
But BMW isn’t the only business that might take issue with the tech giant’s new name.
Both Bloomberg and The New York Times pointed out that many of small and midsize companies use the name Alphabet. There is even an Ohio-based company that uses the name Alphabet Inc.
Alphabet doesn’t even have control of the @alphabet Twitter account – the account belongs to Cleveland, Ohio, resident Chris Andrikanich.
Andrikanich’s account was inundated with tweets following Monday’s announcement. His follow up tweet which read, “Well, that was an interesting way to end a Monday…,” garnered over 7,000 retweets.
The Twitter user has since changed his bio to read, “I’m not affiliated w/ Google/Alphabet Inc.”
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