Facebook is suing Teachbook, claiming the startup’s use of the word “book” in its name trespasses on its trademark. Facebook filed the complaint last week in the U.S. District Court of San Jose, Calif. Facebook argues that Teachbook is trying to leverage the social-networking giant’s popularity by launching a social network for teachers with the word “book” in the name.
‘Book’ Beef
“The ‘book’ component of the Facebook mark has no descriptive meaning and is arbitrary and highly distinctive in the context of online communities and networking web sites,” the lawsuit says.
“If others could freely use ‘generic plus book’ marks for online networking services targeted to that particular generic category of individuals, the suffix ‘book’ could become a generic term for ‘online community/networking services’ or ‘social-networking services,'” it says. “That would dilute the distinctiveness of the Facebook marks, impairing their ability to function as unique and distinctive identifiers of Facebook’s goods and services.”
Is Facebook Threatened?
Teachbook bills itself as a professional online community for teachers. Teachers can join the site to communicate with colleagues; create, share and search a database of lesson plans and instructional videos created by other teachers; and find online courses, instructional modules, and other educational resources.
“The difficulty Facebook is going to have is with the word ‘book,’ which is a common name and therefore difficult to protect,” said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. “Teachbook isn’t a direct competitor to Facebook. It is trying to carve out a different kind of a niche.”
Facebook isn’t likely to back down and has plenty of money to put into a battle to protect its trademark. It’s not likely that Teachbook can match Facebook’s financial wherewithal in a long legal battle. Enderle expects Teachbook to capitulate rather than attempt to battle Facebook.
Sending a Message
Facebook didn’t specify damages in its…