As of the 19th of October 2005 all new users signing up for a GMail/Google Mail in the UK have been given an @googlemail.com address instead of a @gmail.com email address. This was due to a dispute regarding the Gmail trademark in the UK, as another company “Independent International Investment Research (IIIR)” had claimed rights to the Gmail name. Google did try to resolve this dispute through negotiations, but their efforts failed.

So since this time their Google Mail help for the UK has displayed  the following message “We are still working with the courts and trademark office to protect our ability to use the Gmail name, but in the meantime, we want you to have an email address you can rely on. We are dedicated to offering the best email service to our users. Our email service stays the same no matter what the logo is or what follows the @ symbol. This change lets our team focus their time on continuing to bring you excellent service.”

However thats all changing, the following message has now been posted on The Official GMail Blog:

As a Brit, my friends and family often tell me they’re miffed that they get an @googlemail.com address instead of @gmail.com. Today I have good news for them: Google Mail is soon becoming Gmail again in the UK.

If you already have a Google email account in the UK, you’ll soon have the option to switch your existing @googlemail.com address to the matching @gmail.com one, but you’re also free to stick with @googlemail.com. And starting later this week, anybody who signs up for a new account in the UK will get an @gmail.com address. Since “gmail” is 50% fewer characters than “googlemail,” we estimate this name change will save approximately 60 million keystrokes a day. At about 217 microjoules per keystroke, that’s about the energy of 20 bonbons saved every day!

We’ll be making this transition over the next week, and will update this post as the changes roll out. So to Aunty Pamela, Uncle Maurice, and everyone else in the UK, welcome to Gmail!