This article on the UK news site called The Independent states that Google, known for its mantra “don’t be evil”, has fired off a series of legal letters to media organizations, warning them against using its name as a verb.
Google has become known for their anti-corporate image of youthful non-conformity, from the jeans and T-shirts often worn by its billionaire founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, to the scooter lanes and volleyball courts at its Palo Alto headquarters.
In the letter(s), Google gives an example of what’s appropriate and what’s not…
Appropriate: I ran a Google search to check out that guy from the party. Inappropriate: I googled that hottie.
Given the rep that they’ve cultivated to this point, it’s a little surprising that Google is acting like such a suit now. Especially after all of the negative press that AOL received recently for releasing potentially sensitive search data.
OK, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go google that hottie, uh, perform a GoogleTM search regarding the attractive young lady in my office… 
