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Facebook has announced that it will begin providing access to vanity URLs this coming Saturday, June 13, on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Previously, a user’s Facebook URL was comprised of randomly assigned numbers. Soon, users will be able to reserve username-based URLs. For example, instead of random numbers the URL would say
www.facebook.com/username. Facebook says that this development is designed to make it easier to locate Facebook pages.
While this service is intended to improve how Facebook can be used, it may
open the floodgates for potential trademark infringers and cybersquatters. Anyone could easily abuse this service by reserving a username which incorporates your trademarks and thereby hold themselves out as being affiliated with your company.
In order to mitigate those possibilities, Facebook is providing trademark owners with the ability to block URL extensions for trademarks which are registered. Trademark owners can block their URL extension
before the public reservation period starts. Taking this action will effectively remove URL extensions with your trademarks from the list of possible usernames and help protect your trademarks from potential infringement.
The public reservation period for usernames begins this Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 12:01 am EDT. We strongly recommend
blocking URL extensions with your trademarks before this reservation period opens to the public. This means the relevant form should be completed for each of your trademarks
by this Friday, June 12, 2009.
Trademark owners can reserve their trademarks on the Facebook platform by submitting relevant information to Facebook, Inc. through their
trademark protection contact form, available here.
We are happy to provide assistance in this process. Please let us know immediately if you would like us to have your trademarks blocked from Facebook username registration. If in the future a trademark infringer or cybersquatter uses a URL extension with any of your trademarks on Facebook, we can also assist with resolving the matter through procedures that Facebook is implementing.
For more information, please contact:
This information is intended as a general overview and discussion of the subjects dealt with. The information provided here was accurate as of the day it was posted; however, the law may have changed since that date. This information is not intended to be, and should not be used as, a substitute for taking legal advice in any specific situation. DLA Piper is not responsible for any actions taken or not taken on the basis of this information. Please refer to the full terms and conditions on our website.
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