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Facebook's New Username Feature Raises Trademark Issues If you've logged into your Facebook account within the last 48 hours or so, chances are you've already seen and read the following message:Starting on Friday, June 12th, at 9:01pm in your time zone, you'll be able to choose a username for your Facebook account to easily direct friends, family, and coworkers to your profile. Check out the Facebook Blog for more information or send yourself an email with the details. What this means is that instead of the randomly
assigned digital number that previously designated a Facebook user's
home page, their chosen name will become part of the URL, making it
easier for anyone to search not only on Facebook, but also through
Google and other search engines. A welcome initiative, to say the least, but as explained below by two intellectual property attorneys from Morrison & Foerster, LLP,
Facebook's move raises some interesting trademark issues for brand
owners. Chief among them, according to Morrison & Foerster attorneys, is the prospect that cyber-squatters may be able to register
business names for their own use, particularly as profile names are
being handed out on first-come, first-served basis. Morrison & Foerster attorneys Lynn Humphreys and Cathleen Stadecker
note that companies or groups with trademarked names can block
squatters and interlopers from using their brands by following online
registration protocols that Facebook has set up - though they caution, "It remains to be seen exactly how Facebook will evaluate the validity of particular requests for protection." The attorneys also point out that Facebook has "explicitly reserved the right to remove and/or reclaim any user name at any time, for any reason." All well and good, but the lawyers add it remains unclear "how individual infringement claims relating to user names will be processed and resolved." And
while Facebook has a policy in place that user names cannot be
transferred or sold, as often happens with online domain names, "The system may still be abused by users who select names that potentially infringe on trademark rights." In
short, the two attorneys note that under Facebook's new profile
options, what's in a name may not be so simple as what's in a number.
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It is a tricky question. It is not just about registering your company's trademark but also about making sure in adopting one you are not infringing upon another mark's rights. So, at a minimum, clearance reports should be performed anytime you are about to begin use of a new mark.
Concerning Facebook, that has just been a mess. While they are trying to make money from ads from information they have received they have yet to put in place an adequate system to make sure trademark infringement does not occur through their site.
Google is even now feeling this sting. See http://thetrademarkcompany.blogspot.com/
Hope this helps. If you ever have any questions on all of this feel free to contact us.
The Trademark Company
I think this is a gigantic mess in the making. I wonder how Facebook's customer service stacks up with Googles? Google's customer service is virtually non-existent.
And now, what is Facebook's goal in all this? It's not like they need more users.
It really has gotten out of hand, hasn't it? I just use Facebook for fun and to catch up with old friends. I can't be bothered with user names and all that stuff. Maybe I'll just stick to email. Good article!
My question is how many business trademark their company name? Obviously big ones do, but do small businesses? Also Facebook really should have told pages long before now about the criteria to even get a vanity URL. It also doesn't help to know weeks after a deadline has passed that you need at least 1000 fans in order to get a vanity URL tonight.