Israeli company to Google: Find another name, Alphabet is taken!

An Israeli design and architecture firm claims that it has been operating under the moniker "Alphabet" for over 25 years.

By DANIEL J. ROTH
Updated: AUGUST 11, 2015 11:55
Alefbet logo (photo credit: Courtesy)
Alefbet logo
(photo credit: Courtesy)
An Israeli firm which specializes in design and architecture argued on Tuesday that Google was wrongfully appropriating their name "Alphabet" and is planning to ask the internet giant "to pick a name that is not already taken."
In a written statement sent to the press, Alefbet Planners Ltd. claims that Google's new moniker has been used by the former for the last 25 years and is known as "Alphabet" by their international customer base.
"The company has spent years building its name and is known abroad under the name 'Alphabet'," Alefbet said in the statement. "We plan to call the heads of Google and ask them to choose another name that is not already taken."
According to the statement, Alefbet Planners Ltd. claims to be the third largest planning, design and architecture company in Israel,  operating for over 25 years.   
Google Inc announced a major shake-up of its operating structure on Monday (August 10), creating a holding company called Alphabet which will contain subsidiaries to separate its core web advertising business from newer ventures like driverless cars.
The move appeared to be an attempt to let the company focus on its more creative and ambitious projects.
Alphabet Inc will replace Google as the publicly-traded entity and all shares of Google will automatically convert into the same number of shares of Alphabet, with all of the same rights.
"This new structure will allow us to keep tremendous focus on the extraordinary opportunities we have inside of Google," said co-founder and CEO Larry Page in a blog post.
The structure was announced after the close of stock market trading. Google co-founder Sergey Brin will become president of Alphabet, and Eric Schmidt will be executive chairman.
The company said the new arrangement will take effect "later this year."
Reuters contributed to this article.