Social networking giant Facebook has sued Teachbook.com for taking advantage of the site’s distinctive “book” portion of its name, it has been reported.
Teachbook.com, which markets itself as an online community for teachers, has been filed with a complaint for “misappropriating the distinctive BOOK portion of Facebook’s trademark.”
As reported by Mashable, Facebook believes the word “book” when used as part of a website name can be inappropriately used, when that site is some sort of social network, or offering a similar service.
Facebook points to Teachbook’s claim on its website that it is like “Facebook for teachers”.
“If others could freely use ‘generic plus BOOK’ marks for online networking services targetted to that particular generic category of individuals, the suffix BOOK could become a generic term for ‘online community/networking services’ or ‘social networking services’,” the lawsuit states.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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