Hacker News Reader

Comment by tptacek | Hacker News Reader

Teachbook is a social ("networking") site for teachers. Their defense is not that there's no overlap, but that they're so small Facebook shouldn't care --- which is exactly not how trademark works.

This headline is sensationalistic. Facebook isn't claiming it owns "book". It's saying, don't make social networking sites named xxxBook. That may be overly aggressive, but it isn't crazy, and if you start DoctorBook (the social networking site for doctors), you can't tell me you're not doing it with eyes open to the chance Facebook will make you change the name.

What'd they expect Facebook to think about this? Is Facebook expected to be OK with Plumberbook and Contractorbook and Lawbook (the social networking site for lawyers) too?

View on HN

They don't have to be "ok" with it; the question is does their trademark extend to names that are "sort of like" their name FaceBook. I don't think so.

You should read up on trademark law. They aren't going out on a limb. Look up Trademark Dilution.

I'm not saying they're right, though; I'm just saying they're not crazy.

It's really easy to get caught up in anti-copyright and anti-(software-)patent fervor and get so caught up that you want to toss it all out, even trademarks! And it is true that trademarks have been abused.

But they exist for a very good reason, and I could see copyright and patents being tossed out in toto before trademarks went away. (And yes, I consider that to have negligible probability too.) You have a right to know with what entity you are dealing, and that's the problem trademarks solve. To that end, a trademark does not just cover the literal thing trademarked, it is explicitly defined in terms of things that may confuse a normal person, because that is the entire purpose. "Sort of like" is the entire point.

I think the idea that these people named their product with no intention of trying to ride Facebook's coattails completely implausible. They knew what they were doing. They may not have realized it's illegal, but this is simply the purpose of the law being fulfilled. (And the odds that they did know what they were doing and acted in bad faith anyhow are definitely nontrivial.) This is little different than trying to sell a Sorny TV.

The answer is already in the linked article IMHO. What if I started a phone directory service named phonebook (which is a perfectly valid english of the dutch "Telefoonboek"). Shouldn't be a problem IMHO.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com