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Facebook haunted by mild-mannered specter
- ojbyrne 18y agoI feel a bond... "He has, however, plunged into a quixotic and surprisingly adept legal effort to challenge the company's registered trademark. In addition, he's using the experience of publicly criticizing Facebook to inform his own startup."
- helveticaman 18y agoIf I may ask: Do you think this guy is for real? Is this kind of screwing over a big risk for founders? How would you avoid it?
- mlinsey 18y agoRegardless of whether or not the "he stole my idea" story is real, I do think that he may have a good case that "Facebook" isn't trademarkable. When I arrived at college the year before Facebook the site launched, we received a dead-tree book at orientation that was called a "Facebook", and they had been a tradition there and at many other schools for a while. While Apple can trademark their logo, they can't trademark the word "Apple".
- LogicHoleFlaw 18y agoAh, except they can trademark the word "Apple" in reference to the sales of computers. A trademark is not just a word, but a word paired with a market.
- ojbyrne 18y agoAs I recall from some marketing class or other - to use a concrete word like Apple, it can't be indicative of the product's function. So the use of the name Apple for a computer company doesn't in any way restrict other companies from entering that market. But naming something after the offline function that it implements - that does affect other companies trying to enter that market. I.e. if instead of Apple they'd chosen PC Computers - it likely would not have been a valid trademark. And if you were an apple producer and tried to call yourself Apple Inc., sorry that's no good either. IANAL, obviously.
- workpost 18y agoAt my college we had "Faces and Places" a.k.a the "Meet Book" otherwise known as the "Meat Book." I don't remember it specifically called the "Face Book" but I don't think it's a stretch to think that kids at many other schools would have called it that.
- ojbyrne 18y agoI think YC has the answer to the third question. Don't take VC money - or at least delay it as long as possible. The more money and the further you get away from founding, the less your contribution is really worth, unless your role expands with the company - and that's often difficult once the VC's management team arrives. I don't know if he's for real, but he seems persistent and intelligent, typical traits for a founder. Zuckerberg doesn't really seem all that smart.
- kradic 18y agohttp://i-love-cartoons.com/snags/clipart/Casper-Friendly-Ghost/Casper-Friendly-Ghost-1.jpg http://i-love-cartoons.com/snags/clipart/Casper-Friendly-Gho...
- daveambrose 18y agoIs anyone else reading his book?
- brandonkm 18y agoYea, I figure its at least worth checking out to see his perspective on things.
- gojomo 18y agoI read the parts related to Facebook/Zuckerberg, while it was online a while back. Even though it's written by Greenspan, it makes Greenspan look like a lacksadaisical worrywart, and Zuckerberg a driven executor. See my previous comments here ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49294 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49294 ) and here ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24748 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24748 ). (Greenspan has broken the direct page links, but you can get the general idea without buying his book.)
- ivankirigin 18y agoWhat a loser. I read only enough to remember the name to ensure I never use a product he makes.