Looks as if trouble is always in air for Google’s Gmail. First it was the privacy question, then it was the spam and now, its a legal problem, that could well rip Google off Gmail. I think Gmail spells ‘trouble’.

The company that recently won the rights to the GMail trademark in the UK has taken its case Stateside. And if Independent International Investment Research (IIIR) is successful claiming its stake to GMail in the US as well, your @gmail.com address could change to @googlemail.com instead.

Late last month, IIIR filed a petition with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel Google’s ownership of the GMail trademark, alleging the company had improperly acquired their application for it in 2004.

IIIR launched their GMail product in the US in 2002. The “G” stood for “Graphiti,” a combination of “graphics with integrated text intelligence.” A subscription service offered through the their website, it was intended to allow stock brokers to incorporate IIIR’s equity and currency data for investment banks.