Alert 327 Facebook Vanity URLs - Keep Calm and Don't Panic


What trademark owners should do

Background
On 11 June, after close of business in much of the world outside the Americas, Facebook announced that it would allow its members to choose a user name for their account for the first time, on a first come first served basis.  The name will replace the earlier randomly-generated string of numbers which gave access to each member's profile.  The new names will be in the form www.facebook.com/username, making them easier to remember, share and search than before.

The announcement has caused a flurry of media interest, partly generated by Facebook's decision to launch the new names less than 48 hours after the announcement, and partly because the ability of third parties to block objectionable names is unclear.

What has Facebook done to prevent unauthorized use of third party rights?
It appears that Facebook may have a restricted list of 'tens of thousands' of business names and terms which will only be available to their owners.  However, that list is not public.

Facebook has said that it reserves the right to remove and/or reclaim any username at any time for any reason, which presumably includes the fact that the rights in the name belong to someone else.

It has also limited the members who can initially register the new user names to those who have been members since before the announcement was made, which should limit the number of opportunistic registrations.
 
What should trade mark owners do?
As the new names will be available from midnight tonight (Friday, 12 June 2009), trade mark owners who wish to ensure that their names are not taken by third parties should consider:
  1. Registering their own trademarks as usernames on Facebook
  2. Filing a form called 'Preventing the Registration of a Username', accessible by clicking here.
  3. Following Facebook's procedure to obtain removal of an infringing user name, which can be started by filing a 'Notice of Intellectual Property Infringement (Non-Copyright Claim)'. Click here to access a copy of the form.

Our Comment
Although Facebook's announcement has caused consternation, this is not the first time that popular social network sites have allowed the use of personalised user names.  Facebook is following a well-travelled path, and has shown its awareness of third party rights and the need to protect them.  If it follows its procedures sensibly and efficiently, trade mark owners' rights should be well protected.