Facebook Says It Owns "Book"

[Biotoxic_hazard_835]

This is really stupid.

[guru]

neowin owns 'win'

[Nihilus]

I don't see a case in this. With Microsoft they do effectively have "Windows" however, you can still have that phrase in your name if it makes sense. It doesn't, however, make any sense that they can trademark what is essentially a suffix to their companies name.

neowin owns 'win'

What if a company set up a website called geowin.net, a geophraphy site where amateur geography news bloggers post stories, and users comment on them and chat in the forums? What if a social networking site called themselves teenbook, aimed at teenagers?

This isn't a silly lawsuit. Teachbook are trading off the Facebook name.

[Scorpian8867]

I honestly don't see what Facebook hopes to gain by this. I sincerely doubt that a website for teachers is ever going to negatively affect Facebook in any significant way.

Yeah, this goes up on my list of stupid lawsuits right next to the time that T-Mobile threatened to sue Engadget because they claimed they owned the color purple.

[TonyLock]

OK, I was about to open a website called TonysFavoriteBook.com, I won't bother now.

[MR_Candyman]

If anything they should sue Bookface. Hell, Bookface is even ON Facebook

[guru]

What if a company set up a website called geowin.net, a geophraphy site where amateur geography news bloggers post stories, and users comment on them and chat in the forums? What if a social networking site called themselves teenbook, aimed at teenagers?

This isn't a silly lawsuit. Teachbook are trading off the Facebook name.

you have a point but can MS - Hotmail sue Google for using *Mail in Gmail ? some words are too common suffix, prefix to be trademarked imo

[Nihilus]

OK, I was about to open a website called TonysFavoriteBook.com, I won't bother now.

Well that isn't really a play on facebook, is it :/

All this facebook bashing is just popular anti-establishment bull. Teachbook were using a play on words from the well known Facebook, to promote a social networking site for teachers, and they got boned for it.

/Thread.

[MytMowse]

They won't win.

[BigKush]

Well that isn't really a play on facebook, is it :/

All this facebook bashing is just popular anti-establishment bull. Teachbook were using a play on words from the well known Facebook, to promote a social networking site for teachers, and they got boned for it.

/Thread.

This..

It's stupid, but it is contextual.

[Quattrone]

I can't see Facebook winning this one.

Agree, book is a common name not a special name like "Voltron" or something like that which is not a common name.

[Quillz]

They would if Apple was a small startup that they could muscle up in court with expensive lawyers

Exactly.

Real low, Facebook. Real low. I could understand if Teachbook was trying to appeal to the Facebook crowd or something, but it's not. It's for teachers and has nothing to do with social networking. It's like when Apple tried to sue the makers of the Profit Pod, a device that was used internally in some arcade machines or something.