Facebook may have to rethink the “Timeline ". Mark Zuckerberg lost in justice entitled to use the term "Timeline" (or "timeline" in Portuguese) that existed before being applied to the social network (in 2011) and was owned by the company Timelines.
The dispute began in court just a week after the social network launched the "Timeline", in 2011. The company Timelines claims exclusive rights to the use of the term and accuses Facebook of having launched the appeal so anticompetitive.
The final decision of the judge was favorable to the company. Facebook has failed to prove that the term is generic, can be applied to other contexts, not being exclusive Timelines.
What is certain is that the site allows you to create Timelines important dates on a timeline, something similar to the structure used in Facebook. According to the judge, and the site timelines.com related company, managed to create a product around the end, what makes a brand and make the social network a user misuse of a trademark.
Facebook has appealed the court's decision and will wait for a new hearing scheduled for April 22. From that day, Mark Zuckerberg may have to definitively abandon the term "Timeline" and rethink the structure name.
The dispute began in court just a week after the social network launched the "Timeline", in 2011. The company Timelines claims exclusive rights to the use of the term and accuses Facebook of having launched the appeal so anticompetitive.
The final decision of the judge was favorable to the company. Facebook has failed to prove that the term is generic, can be applied to other contexts, not being exclusive Timelines.
What is certain is that the site allows you to create Timelines important dates on a timeline, something similar to the structure used in Facebook. According to the judge, and the site timelines.com related company, managed to create a product around the end, what makes a brand and make the social network a user misuse of a trademark.
Facebook has appealed the court's decision and will wait for a new hearing scheduled for April 22. From that day, Mark Zuckerberg may have to definitively abandon the term "Timeline" and rethink the structure name.
