Facebook, which is partly owned by Microsoft and in many different ways empowers Microsoft's monopoly, keeps showing why it's a malicious company* (e.g. using information without permission as Facebook's nearly entire business model** is based on feeding nosy people). As we demonstrated in previous posts, in recent years Facebook has been collecting software patents and it's indicative of paranoia among companies that are about to collapse. We wrote many posts which were warning about Facebook's practices but especially its patents and the relationship between the founder and the world's latest patent troll. As the old saying goes, "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." A lot of people give a badly-behaving company a lot of power it oughtn't have.
Facebook Inc., the world’s biggest social-networking website, accused the owner of the Boston Phoenix newspaper and WFNX radio station of infringing two patents related to ways to manage information online.
Facebook filed the complaint today in federal court in Boston against Phoenix Media/Communications Group Inc. and its People2People Group, Tele-Publishing and FNX Broadcasting units. The allegations were made in response to a patent-infringement lawsuit Tele-Publishing filed last year against Palo Alto, California-based Facebook.
Comments
TemporalBeing
2010-11-11 17:27:34
IANAL, but that is my understanding of Trademark law - however correct or incorrect it may be.
Patrick
2010-11-11 17:42:50
You are more or less correct on trademark law. The rule is use-it-or-lose-it.
However, I don't necessarily agree that a trademark owner is "forced to litigate" in every situation, despite the owners frequently claiming as much. I mentioned this a little bit in my post about trademark bullies. http://gametimeip.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/bullying-grown-up-sort-of/
Also, trademark law allows owners to protect against "tarnishment" and "dilution" in addition to consumer confusion. The former leads some owners to use trademarks in an attempt to squash criticism (although I'm not saying FB has or hasn't done this).
Incidentally, what you say about only a court being able to truly say whether the offending party is/is not offending is also true of patent cases.
Dr. Roy Schestowitz
2010-11-11 17:45:34
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36334733/ http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article7115651.ece http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/06/south_butt_wins_trademark_batt.php http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/12/north_face_sues_teenaged_south.html http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100202/0325398008.shtml
Dr. Roy Schestowitz
2010-11-11 17:42:51
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371393,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05079TX1K0000993
twitter
2010-11-11 23:20:53
Dr. Roy Schestowitz
2010-11-11 23:47:06
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_vs_MikeRoweSoft
Patrick
2010-11-11 09:39:48