THE TRADEMARK TROLL IS SKEPTICAL ABOUT A LANDRUSH TO FACEBOOK URL'S

Much ink has been spilled recently over a change in facebook's policy. As of June 13,2009 facebook users have been able to register personalized URL's to direct others their facebook home page.

Many commentators have warned that unscrupulous facebook users would incorporate famous trademarks in their personalized URL thus hijacking a famous trademark. Indeed, facebook offered brand owners the chance to register their trademarks BEFORE the open registration began. And facebook has also established a notice procedure whereby brand owners can ask that a URL be removed.

With hundreds of millions of facebook pages there will undoubtedly be some who attempt to abuse the facebook registration process. But the trademark troll doubts that there will be widespread efforts to hijack trademarks.

Why? Because unlike the domain name registration process, that is largely anonymous, a facebook URL leads the world to one's personal doorstep. If I am presenting myself to the world how do I explain that my personalized URL is facebook.com/mcdonalds rather than facebook.com/jtroll?