WebProNews

Tag: trademark law

  • Twitter Reacts to Facebook’s Trademark of “Book”

    In its revised “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities,” Facebook claims the word “book” as a trademark. This may seem both pedantic and silly, but Facebook has always been protective of its namesake.

    Jon Brodkin of Ars Technica clears things up in his article on the issue:

    You may recall that Facebook has launched multiple lawsuits against websites incorporating the word “book” into their names. Facebook, as far as we can tell, doesn’t have a registered trademark on “book.” But trademark rights can be asserted based on use of a term, even if the trademark isn’t registered, and adding the claim to Facebook’s user agreement could boost the company’s standing in future lawsuits filed against sites that use the word.

    “Unregistered marks are quite common in the US,” University of Minnesota Law Professor William McGeveran told Ars. “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, McGeveran notes.

    Brodkin deserves praise for his well-researched and thoughtful take on the issue, but this nuanced view of what’s going on is obviously lost in the din of Twitter. The expected ridicule is flying:

    @MonkeySloth
    Jordan Sanderson    If you use facebook you automatically signed the way the right to use the word Book without their permission http://t.co/jXMD5eMr 1 hour ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @Berge
    Nathaniel Berger    Way to blow today’s cred with me @facebook… › Facebook asserts trademark on word “book” in new user agreement » http://t.co/AsZvcgAQ 24 minutes ago via Tweet Button ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @mirkoschaefer
    Mirko Tobias Schäfer    great post on Facebook’s new trademark ‘book’ – ripping off 500 years of media history http://t.co/lPof65r0 via @evgenymorozov 41 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @EricDBarry
    Eric Barry    Should be called Trollbook | Facebook asserts trademark on word “book” in new user agreement http://t.co/xM1LWDP0 via @arstechnica #tvot 49 minutes ago via Tweet Button ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @caparsons
    caparsons    So, if FB is asserting trademark over ‘book’ what does that mean for RIM’s Playbook? http://t.co/uUdffpWx 1 hour ago via Twitter for Mac ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (Via ars technica)

  • Who’s Got The Buzz: Yahoo or Google?

    Who’s Got The Buzz: Yahoo or Google?

    UPDATE: Google’s Victoria Katsarou tells WebProNews…

    "We chose the name Buzz because of the word’s connotations of activity, conversations, sharing of information… Buzz’ is not a trademarked term."

    For further details, read the full article: Google: "Buzz" Is Not a Trademarked Term

    ORIGINIAL ARTICLE: Recently, Google officially announced their latest product, Google Buzz, during a live press event. If you’re not familiar with Google Buzz, it’s a way to share updates, photos, videos, and more. (You can read an extensive writeup of Google Buzz here).

    Google Buzz

    Wait a minute; doesn’t the name Buzz sound familiar? Well, there’s a good reason for that. Let me re-introduce you to Yahoo! Buzz.

    Yahoo! Buzz

    Should Google have picked a different name for their service? Share your thoughts.

    For those of you who don’t know what Yahoo! Buzz is, or for those of you who forgot it even existed, it’s a Digg-esque social bookmarking service that launched back in 2008.

    The first thing that came to this writers mind was, “how can two rivals in the search industry each have a product with the same name?” Granted, they’re two separate services, but both reside in the social media realm.

    Another thing that should be noted is the Yahoo! Buzz logo features a trademark. That trademark only applies apparently to the the word Yahoo, not "Yahoo Buzz". 

    What do you think will happen between Google & Yahoo? Tell us what you think.

    UPDATE: Looks like Yahoo! finally caught wind of Google Buzz, they recently tweeted the following…

     

    Yahoo! Buzz tweet