On June 9, 2009 the well-known social networking site Facebook announced the introduction of a new policy to enable users to register personalized usernames as personal URLS in the form: www.facebook.com/yourname, which will then link to the user's Facebook profile. Additionally, those administering groups or other Facebook pages may similarly select their own URL for that page. The initiative starts at 12:01 EDT on Saturday, June 13, 2009 for those whom have signed up with Facebook prior to May 31, 2009 or which have used a particular user profile prior to June 9, 2009.
Additionally, however, the introduction of this policy raises the potential for the adoption of personal URLs which may be confusingly similar or identical to trademarks and brand names thereby resulting in "Facebook squatting". Anticipating this possibility and, in advance of the Saturday launch, Facebook Inc. has enabled trademark owners to use an on line form to register their trademarks with Facebook in order to prevent third parties from utilize a trademark as part of a URL.
In order to mitigate against negative repercussions it is advisable that trademark owners register their marks with Facebook in order to avoid potential confusion or negative consequences such as diminished goodwill, it is recommended that you contact Facebook Inc. using the online form or contact our office to arrange for a recordal of your rights.
Should you wish to discuss the implications of this policy on your trademarks please contact us.
On June 9, 2009 the well-known social networking site Facebook announced the introduction of a new policy to enable users to register personalized usernames as personal URLS in the form: www.facebook.com/yourname, which will then link to the user's Facebook profile. Additionally, those administering groups or other Facebook pages may similarly select their own URL for that page. The initiative starts at 12:01 EDT on Saturday, June 13, 2009 for those whom have signed up with Facebook prior to May 31, 2009 or which have used a particular user profile prior to June 9, 2009.
Additionally, however, the introduction of this policy raises the potential for the adoption of personal URLs which may be confusingly similar or identical to trademarks and brand names thereby resulting in "Facebook squatting". Anticipating this possibility and, in advance of the Saturday launch, Facebook Inc. has enabled trademark owners to use an on line form to register their trademarks with Facebook in order to prevent third parties from utilize a trademark as part of a URL.
The Facebook FAQ is available here and provides useful information regarding the new policy and strategies to address intellectual property rights.
In order to mitigate against negative repercussions it is advisable that trademark owners register their marks with Facebook in order to avoid potential confusion or negative consequences such as diminished goodwill, it is recommended that you contact Facebook Inc. using the online form or contact our office to arrange for a recordal of your rights.
Additionally, if you become aware of a third party adopting a personal URL, Facebook Inc. has introduced an IP infringement form to enable rights holders to provide formal notice regarding your pre-existing rights.
Overall, the introduction of personal URLs is intended to enable usage of a Facebook username as a search term while in any search engine. Nevertheless, the unintended consequences for this development are three-fold: (1) users must be careful to establish appropriate privacy and security settings to avoid publicly disseminating personal information; (2) trademark owners will be required to police their trademark over Facebook; and (3) trademark owners with pending applications or common law trademark in different jurisdictions may face challenges over the ownership of a particular Facebook URL. Moreover, it is unclear how Facebook intends to resolve contests between different and perhaps competing rights holders for the same trademark in different jurisdictions or similarly, as between distributors, licensees and licensors, etc.
Should you wish to discuss the implications of this policy on your trademarks please contact us.
