The independent research firm preparing to sue Google over the copyright to the GMail name has had its case boosted after a German court upheld an injunction in a similar case.

Shane Smith, the chief executive of Independent International Investment Research, also said his company has been approached with three separate offers of funding for a possible lawsuit, including from an unnamed hedge fund and an investment banking boutique.

IIIR, a British company that specialises in research for City institutions, argues that it lauched "G-MailTM" in May 2002 to enable its customers to disseminate the analysis it sends them over the web.

It said on Monday that Google's own branded "GMailTM" services, launched nearly two years later and aimed at a mass audiance of e-mail users, was a breach of its intellectual property rights.

After 15 months of "negotiations" over the terms of a potential settlement, apparently broken off by Google, IIIR said it was considering taking its case to the courts.

Google has an EU patent application for GMail in train, which has been opposed by Pronet, the subsidiary of IIR that developed its version of GMail.

A spokeswoman for Google declined to comment on the specifics of the ongoing dispute between the two companies.

However, she said: "We can confirm that Pronet has contacted Google and that we have been seeking information on their use of the Gmail trademark but have not received any evidence to establish the rights they have claimed."

This suggests that Google will strongly contest an action by IIIR if it reaches the courts.

Mr Smith said this morning that his company had been "encouraged" by events in a similar court case taking place in Hamburg.

The court earlier this week upheld an injunction that prevents Google from extending the use of its GMail mark in Germany until a case involving a company that also claims to own the GMail trademark has been heard.

Although IIIR has not named the German company involved it is reportedly called Giersch Ventures, run by business entrepreneur Daniel Giersch. Google is using the name "Google Mail" in Germany until the case is concluded.

Mr Smith said: "The German court of first instance determined originally that Google had a case to answer and that the owner of the trademark had a case that was legitimate for the court to hear. Google's subsequent arguments on appeal have evidently not prevailed.

"This is encouraging as our own case is also based on prior rights. In Germany Google may now therefore be forced to do what we asked it to do voluntarily - which is to change the name of Gmail."

Mr Smith told Times Online that IIIR was preparing to explore three separate offers of funding for its potential legal action: from a hedge fund, from a specialist litigation financier affiliated to a hedge fund and from an investment banking boutique.

He declined to name those involved.

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