Facebook Trademarked these Words

You may remember Facebook instigating multiple lawsuits on websites incorporating the term ‘book’ into their names. They do not have any registered trademark on the word, but trademark rights can be proclaimed based on the use of a term, although that trademark may yet to be registered.

They seem to have grabbed others by the balls by adding this claim to a revised version of their ‘Statement of Rights and Responsibilities’, the agreement that each and every user tacitly agrees to by accessing or using Facebook. This could boost the social media behemoth’s standing in future lawsuits filed against websites that attempt to use the name.

Says University of Minnesota Law Professor William McGeveran:

Unregistered marks are quite common in the US. Rights arise from use, not registration (though registration does give you some other advantages). That’s how Facebook can try to claim ‘book’. If you see a ™ next to a name, that indicates an unregistered, claimed trademark, whereas an R in a circle signifies a registered one.’

Other names Facebook has trademarked are ‘face’, ‘wall’, ‘poke’ and ‘like’.