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Facebook sues TeachBook.com for cybersquatting

Kevin Murphy, August 24, 2010, 15:51:20 (UTC), Domain Policy

All your “book” are belong to us?
Facebook has filed a cybersquatting and trademark infringement lawsuit against TeachBook.com, a social networking site for teachers.
The suit claims the site unfairly capitalizes on the Facebook trademark by using the “book” portion of the mark to evoke the idea of social networking.
According to the complaint, one of TeachBook’s selling points is that many schools ban teachers from using Facebook in order to prevent kids extorting them using personal information.
I don’t know how popular the site is — it doesn’t look like much — but it appears that TeachBook also owns a trademark on its brand.
I doubt this kind of claim would hold up under UDRP rules (unless a “friendly” panelist got the case), which is probably why Facebook has resorted to the US courts.
CourthouseNews.com has a PDF of the complaint and exhibits.

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Comments (6)

  1. Tia Wood says:

    I agree. It doesn’t look like it would go anywhere.

  2. Mike says:

    Oh please. Give it a break. FaceBOOK sucks and if anything, TeachBOOK will have to get past the fact that its NOT a social networking site.
    They [FaceBOOK] are going to lose this thing and I cant wait to laugh in their FACE”book” even more so than I do today. Waste of time, time-sink of a site.

  3. Bret Moore says:

    I think the reason they didn’t file a UDRP is exactly as you say. Here there’s too much of an actual trademark infringement claim going on for a panel to (comfortably) decide the matter.

  4. Allen says:

    If Facebook did not exist, there is no doubt that teachbook would not include “book” in their name. This is classic passing off and appears deliberate. Teachbook’s owner faces treble damages.

    • jon says:

      Allen-
      your comment is the most ridiculious thing ive ever heard.
      PROVE IT! Is all i can say. The word “book” is one of the most commonly used words in the english language,and
      has existed for 100’s of years before facebook was even
      concieved.
      Teach book.com
      Face book.com
      They are and look nothing alike! Go do a who.is on
      Book.com and you will find that facebook is not even
      the owner. Fb has no trademark on “book”
      This is just another corporate bully tactic designed to intimidate domainers and web developers.

  5. […] Facebook sues TeachBook.com for cybersquatting […]

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