Google has hit a snag just days after the official launch of its Nexus One handset. A report from Wired.com suggests that the family of sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick is alleging that the search giant took the handsets name from one of Dicks most famous novels, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' (the book on which the classic movie Blade Runner is based, without asking the familys permission. In the book, private detective Rick Deckard attempts to track down a Nexus 6 model rogue android.
Google takes first and then deals with the fallout later, Isa Dick Hackett, Dicks daughter, told Wired.com.
The family has sent a letter to Google demanding that it stops using the name, but Google says that the name has nothing to do with Dicks work, and that it is simply using the word in its original sense, as a place where things converge.
Wired notes that Dicks estate also protested about Google Book Search when it was announced last, arguing that it was overly complicated and that copyright holders were being asked to make binding decisions.