This week, Facebook filed a trademark infringement suit against a website called “Teachbook.com”. Teachbook is an online community for educators and teachers, and as of now, the unlucky defendant in what could be the beginning of Facebook’s stance on its “—book” mark. What is the lawsuit about? Read on.
According to Mashable,
“While Facebook does not own the rights to the word “book” in all its forms, the company believes its name trademark applies to the word “book” when used in connection with a website of similar purpose. Facebook also takes issue with the fact that Teachbook has attempted to trademark its name and makes claims about being “Facebook for teachers” on the Teachbook website.”
Basically, Facebook claims that their mark is so famous, that any similar mark, although lacking an element of confusion, would dilute (ie. take away from its uniqueness) their mark. Facebook certainly has become one of the most famous marks, both in the US and the world, so they could easily claim a “famous marks” status under the Lanham Act. As far as dilution, we’ll see.
If you want to read the complaint, click on the link below.
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