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Facebook Parody Site Files Preemptive Lawsuit

By Stephanie Robinson

Lamebook.com, the Facebook.com parody website, has filed a declaratory judgment action in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin. Lamebook, founded in April 2009, defines itself as a, ?fun humor blog that allows us to all share and marvel at the funny, ridiculous, and outright crazy posts that can be found on your favorite social networking site.? The Lamebook logo appears to borrow heavily from Facebook?s blue and white logo with a lower case and sans-serif font. Facebook sent letters to Lamebook claiming the parody website was diluting Facebook?s trademark and that Lamebook must stop using the word ?Lamebook? because it contains the word ?book.? Counsel for the websites attempted on two occasions to resolve the issues over the phone but were unable to reach a resolution. Facebook?s letters continued to demand that Lamebook cease and desist using the Lamebook mark and indicated that the parody site must comply or face legal action. Lamebook?s declaratory judgment action claims that Lamebook does not offer social networking services and does not compete with Facebook. Lamebook requests that the court make a declaration of non-infringement of the Facebook mark, a declaration of non-dilution of the Facebook mark, and a declaration that the Lamebook mark is protected by the first amendment of the United States Constitution. Trademark disputes such as these often involve difficult questions regarding the scope of a trademark owner?s rights and the applicability of certain defenses that may be available to alleged infringers. If you have received one or more cease and desist letters, or, conversely, if you believe your trademark or other intellectual property rights are being infringed, you should contact counsel experienced in enforcing and protecting those rights.

Full post as published by Business and Technology Law on November 29, 2010 (boomark / email).