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Alert: Facebook
“Community Pages” May Confuse and Infringe Trademarks |
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Most, if not all,
television and radio stations and other communications companies have
expended significant resources to create and maintain Facebook pages to take
advantage of the promotional opportunities presented by this popular social
network platform. Facebook pages have proven to be a highly effective
method for interactively communicating and building relationships with the
public and advertising clients alike. Until recently, it was assumed
that only a station operator or company had the authority to create and
operate a Facebook page that utilized the station or company’s trademarks,
service marks and logos (“trademarks” for short). Visitors to a
Facebook page therefore were assured that they were communicating directly
with the subject station or company rather than some other unrelated entity. However,
this changed earlier this year when Facebook launched its “Community Page”
initiative. Facebook promotes its Community Pages as a way to “collect
information” and “share knowledge” about a popular topic, governmental entity
or well known company including, for example, a local radio or television
station, or other communications company. These Community Pages most
often prominently feature the trademarks of the featured station or company
and, therefore, can cause a host of problems. Most
significantly, Facebook visitors can easily be confused into believing that
the Community Page is actually the station or company’s own Facebook
page. Indeed, we are aware of numerous instances where individuals have
posted comments on these Community Pages under the mistaken belief that they
would be viewed by the station and/or other viewers and listeners. Furthermore,
the initial content on these Community Pages consists of user-generated
content imported from Wikipedia.com, which may be inaccurate and/or
unverified. In addition, obscene, defamatory or otherwise objectionable
content could be posted on a Community Page unbeknownst to the station or
company it features, which could tarnish or otherwise harm the station or
company’s image and goodwill with the public and advertising clients.
Given the importance of social network platforms as promotional and
informational vehicles, these Community Pages therefore pose a significant
risk and undermine the considerable investments already made in official
Facebook pages. Stations and companies that generate news content are
particularly vulnerable given the significant risk that false, incomplete or
otherwise unverified information from unknown third parties could be
attributed to them. The
purpose of this Alert is to notify you that procedures exist to file a
complaint with Facebook against an offending Community Page based on a claim
of trademark infringement, whether or not your trademarks are federally
registered. We have already filed a number of these complaints on
behalf of our clients, all of which resulted in Facebook disabling the
subject Community Pages. Accordingly, if you become aware that Facebook
has created a Community Page about your station or company, we encourage you
to contact us so that the necessary legal steps can be taken to disable the
page and otherwise protect your image, goodwill and valuable intellectual
property rights. As
a final note, if your trademarks are not registered with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office, we can also assist you in the registration process. If
you have any questions or need any assistance, please contact S. Jenell Trigg
(strigg@lermansenter.com;
202-416-1090) or Louis J. Levy (llevy@lermansenter.com;
202-416-6748). September 22, 2010 |
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This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues and should not be regarded as legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations if desired. Copyright © 2010, Lerman Senter PLLC 2000 K Street NW,
Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20006-1809 To Unsubscribe: Unsubscribe | To Update Client Info: Update Client Info |
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