萬國法律事務所

The website Facebook is a few steps and a payment away from obtaining exclusive right to use of the word “face” for social networking sites in the United States.

Technology blog TechCrunch disclosed recently that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued an Allowance and requested Facebook to provide a Statement of Use regarding its actual use of the word “face” in its business. Once Facebook completes this administrative requirement and pays the registration fee, Facebook will obtain a trademark registration for the word “face” for use in "telecommunication services, namely, providing online chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users".

Public opinion is divided on this issue. While some critics question the legitimacy of granting a trademark registration to a general word such as “face” or “book”, trademark specialists say it is not surprising or inappropriate.