New Bergerber Man

Lost in Translation: Glitch-o-trol

Pfizer makes a diabetes-control drug called Glucotrol. This complaint was actually denied because Pfizer couldn't prove bad faith. You can still go to glucotrol.com and see "Glucotrol's" site in Russian. Does "gluc" really mean "glitch" in Russian slang? Is "trol" really a common Russian word? If anyone knows, please tell me.

Case: D2001-1465

Domain(s): glucotrol.com

Complainant: Pfizer Inc.

Respondent: Ivan Glukhov (Glucotrol Administrator WWW Server)

The Defense:

The disputed domain name is intended to link internet users to Respondent’s personal site. He is a computer programmer and internet developer known amongst his peers as "glucotrol", a name he uses to sign personal correspondence. The expression comes from Russian slang for "glitch" – the Russian word "gluc". Because in his early days he made many "glucs", this nickname "glucotrol" stuck to him. "trol" is a common Russian word [no translation of "trol" was submitted, nor was any extract from any Russian/English dictionary exhibited].


The End As I Know It: A Novel of Millennial Anxiety, by staggernation.com proprietor Kevin Shay, is now available in paperback.

Please visit kshay.com for more information.