Facebook has gone to great lengths in the past to attempt to protect its copyright. However, InformationWeek reports that a seemingly bold tactic might pay dividends, as the social media site has received an initial approval to trademark the word “face.”
According to the report, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office sent a Notice of Allowance to Facebook on November 23, which essentially states that Facebook has the right to claim a trademark on the term “face” based on the department’s examination of its initial request. Facebook must still file a Statement of Use explaining how it plans to use the trademark on the word in commercial applications before the trademark will be issued.
If approved, the trademark would be a major weapon for the company in fighting companies in the social media space with the word “Face” or “Book” in their names. Facebook has claimed that sites which do this are attempting to profit from Facebook’s success and are deliberately confusing users.
