A local Chinese sci-tech company has sued Google's China branch over IPR infringement for adopting the identical Chinese name of "guge", which they have prior use of and have requested Google change. A local Beijing court began hearing the case on Wednesday, as yet no final judgment has been rendered.

Beijing Guge Sci-Tech Company, having officially registered with Beijing's Municipal Industrial and Commercial Bureau in April 19, 2006, claimed that Google (China) using a name identical to their company is an infringement of the IPR patent on the name. Google set up its Chinese branch on November 24 last year.

Despite the accusation, Google's attorney defended them in court, claiming the plaintiff, Beijing Guge Sci-tech Company, primarily registered the name in bad faith, the Beijing News reported.

Local media reported that Google released its Chinese name "guge" in Beijing on April 12, 2006, a couple of days before the date of the plaintiff's registration.

The attorney also stressed that the name "guge", which is not a fixed phrase in the Chinese dictionary, was given special meaning by them.

In Chinese, "gu" means valley, while "ge" means song. Google China claims that they interpret these two words as songs from Silicon Valley, where Google's headquarters are located.

While the plaintiff on the other hand, Beijing Guge Sci-Tech Company, said that the name has two meanings. One is that "gu" represents a cuckoo bird singing in spring, the other is that "gu" when translated into English means grain, which personifies singing during the harvest season in autumn.

As to where "guge" really comes from, the court has not made its final judgement yet.