Technology / Internet
Technology Facebook closes in on winning 'Face' trademark
25 Nov 2010 at 18:07hrs | Views
Following a turbulent, five year long application process, the United States patent office has finally approved Facebook's proposal to trademark the word "Face", and has issued the social network with a Notice of Allowance.
Now, Facebook has three months to pay an issue fee, and has to file a Statement of Use and begin using the mark in commerce in six months. If it can meet those criteria in the designated time, legal claim over the term -- when used in the context of online chat rooms and internet forums -- will belong to Mark Zuckerberg and his clan.
But while the social network will soon be able to instigate litigation against new social sites that use the word Face, the company has recently been going after start-ups and firms that use the other half of its name: Book. In August, it bullied PlaceBook into changing its name. Later that same month it sued Teachbook. And now, the site is embroiled in a fiery legal battle against parody page, Lamebook.
Facebook's attempt to claim the "Face" trademark met some resilience in August this year, when Aaron Greenspan, a former Harvard classmate of Zuckerberg and yet another individual who claims to have had a hand in the creation of Facebook, filed an opposition to the proposal.
Greenspan wanted to scupper Facebook's attempt and take the mark for himself and his mobile payment app, FaceCash. But his opposition time was terminated in October, giving Facebook full access to the trademark.
Facebook has had much better luck than Apple (who, it should be noted, has trademarked the word "FaceTime", so will not have to worry about a colossal legal war there). Earlier this year, the Cupertino technology giant took the makers of a laptop bag called "DOPi" to court, but the judge ruled that Apple does not own the lowercase letter "i". Apple also tried to sue entrepreneur David Kokin for his design, the "Video Pod". According to Kokin's Twitter, Apple didn't have much luck there, either.
The last time a technology company had access to a word as short, vague and ubiquitous as "Face", things got a little bit out of hand. Game publisher Tim Langdell used his hold over the word "Edge" for years to bully game developers and instigate legal spats, until the courts finally stripped him of his ill-gotten trademark.
Now, Facebook has three months to pay an issue fee, and has to file a Statement of Use and begin using the mark in commerce in six months. If it can meet those criteria in the designated time, legal claim over the term -- when used in the context of online chat rooms and internet forums -- will belong to Mark Zuckerberg and his clan.
But while the social network will soon be able to instigate litigation against new social sites that use the word Face, the company has recently been going after start-ups and firms that use the other half of its name: Book. In August, it bullied PlaceBook into changing its name. Later that same month it sued Teachbook. And now, the site is embroiled in a fiery legal battle against parody page, Lamebook.
Facebook's attempt to claim the "Face" trademark met some resilience in August this year, when Aaron Greenspan, a former Harvard classmate of Zuckerberg and yet another individual who claims to have had a hand in the creation of Facebook, filed an opposition to the proposal.
Greenspan wanted to scupper Facebook's attempt and take the mark for himself and his mobile payment app, FaceCash. But his opposition time was terminated in October, giving Facebook full access to the trademark.
Facebook has had much better luck than Apple (who, it should be noted, has trademarked the word "FaceTime", so will not have to worry about a colossal legal war there). Earlier this year, the Cupertino technology giant took the makers of a laptop bag called "DOPi" to court, but the judge ruled that Apple does not own the lowercase letter "i". Apple also tried to sue entrepreneur David Kokin for his design, the "Video Pod". According to Kokin's Twitter, Apple didn't have much luck there, either.
The last time a technology company had access to a word as short, vague and ubiquitous as "Face", things got a little bit out of hand. Game publisher Tim Langdell used his hold over the word "Edge" for years to bully game developers and instigate legal spats, until the courts finally stripped him of his ill-gotten trademark.
Source - www.wired.co.uk
