FACEBOOK: A warning to brand owners

From tomorrow, users of the Facebook website will be allowed to create personalised URLs for their Facebook pages, like this: “Facebook.com/your name”.

There is, of course, a risk that URLs will be created using brand owners’ trade marks. As a trade mark owner, you can prevent your trade marks from being registered as user names by Facebook users by contacting www.facebook.com. The process for preventing registration of a user name is very straightforward.

Any new user of Twitter can sign up using any username not already registered. There is therefore a risk for brand owners that a user signs up using their trade mark/brand name and then potentially pass itself off. Brand owners should consider defensively registering accounts with Twitter to prevent others, just as with domain names, from taking advantage of their brand. Just as with trademark and domain name watching, brand owners should maintain a watch on these social networking sites to ensure their brands are not denigrated or their image tarnished.

If you would like us to help you defeat unauthorised use of your trade marks, then please contact Chloe Fernandez on tel: 0118 952 7247 or email: cfernandez@boyesturner.com, and she will be please do assist you.

Consistent with our policy when giving comment and advice on a non-specific basis, we cannot assume legal responsibility for the
accuracy of any particular statement. In the case of specific problems we recommend that professional advice be sought.

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