The name in question is "Guge", which Google only managed to file for registration at the Beijing Municipal Industrial and Commercial Bureau in November last year. In the mean time, the AP reports, a the Beijing-based company called "Guge Sci-Tech" was able to register the name in April the same year.

The company complains that ever since Google adopted the Guge name, its business has been seriously affected. The plaintiff asks the court that Google drops its Chinese name and pay for all the related legal costs.

Up till now, Google’s only defense is that the name was public knowledge some time before the Guge Sci-Tech stepped in and, therefore, the Chinese company is only looking to make a quick buck. Guge Sci-Tech was the first to have the registration form ready for submission and is rather hard to change that.

Still, the words "out of court settlement" do have a familiar ring for this case and nobody would be amazed in this turned out to be the outcome.