Facebook's Attempt to Trademark Book and How It Will Affect One Asexual Dating Site

Details: Category: Cake Recipes; Published on Sunday, 25 March 2012 16:12; Written by Lara Landis; Hits: 458

Facebook has come down on sites with the word book in their title. According to Wired.com's Threat Level, the online social networking service has drafted a new user agreement that tries to give the company a trademark on the name book. Asexuals may ask what this means for Asexuals. The usual answer will be “not much”. Ace Book, however, may have a problem if it attracts attention. A problem occurs when the social networking giant files suits against other sites with 'book' in their name. Facebook has at least kept their suites to sites that serve a similar purpose.

The company tried to file a trademark in the European union, but faced stiff opposition. The claim was withdrawn, but a similar claim was filed with the Library of Congress in the United States. A new user agreement was unveiled recently which repeats the claim that the company has a trademark on the word book. End Users License Agreements have faced several legal challenges, and the courts do not often rule in the favor of the company. Ace Book may or may not be aware of the new terms of service. The other site may not know about the Asexual dating site, as Asexual dating sites are not likely to threaten Facebook's overall traffic.

Ace Book is the only Ace dating site that may have a problem if Mark Zuckerman's site manages to successfully pursue its claims. The social networking site, which recently went public, acquired another site calling itself the “Facebook of Sex” in order to protect its perceived brand.

No other Asexual dating site faces this problem. Asexual Match, Asexualitic and Asexual Pals uses a different format. Even Ace-book may not suffer from the perceived infringement on the social media site's intellectual property. Even in the United States, companies making such a sweeping claim may have problems. Nintendo cannot trademark the term Wiimote because it is simply too generic. Book, a word that existed in the English language long before the invention of the Internet, enjoys similar protections. A small website will probably back down from a lawsuit to avoid long, complicated legal battles. It does not matter if the claim of the plaintiff is based on valid legal grounds or not.

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Facebook Asserts Trademark on Book