Potential Trademark “Land-Grab” Situation at Facebook

Please be advised of a new announcement by Facebook that it will begin offering personalized username URLs to its users. Starting on Saturday, June 13, at 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern time, Facebook users will be able to register personalized domain names such as www.facebook.com/yourname for their Facebook pages. The registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

In light of the enormous popularity of Facebook, there is serious concern that this will create a “land-grab” situation that could be detrimental to trademark owners. In other words, any particular user might register www.facebook.com/yourtrademark.

In an effort to address this potential problem, Facebook has created an online registration form for trademark owners interested in preventing their trademarks from being registered by Facebook users. The trademark protection registration form is available at http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=username_rights. There is no cost to register a trademark using the online form.

Seyfarth is prepared to assist in the preparation and submission of proper online registration forms to protect your trademarks. If you would like our assistance, please contact your Seyfarth attorney or any member of the Seyfarth Intellectual Property Practice Group .