3 ms·
Regardless 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
by mlinsey 18y ago
Regardless 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.