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Facebook has decided to let companies file their trademarks to prevent other users from registering a username that they have rights to. This has been an issue that many Twitter users have seen and the company has found it difficult to manage since they respond to trademark disputes on a case by case basis. Facebook is taking a different approach by letting users fill out a username prevention form. Businesses must have a “registration number” but I’m not sure what number Facebook is looking for.
Is it the registration number of the company or a specific trademark registration number? My guess is that Facebook is looking for a trademark registration number but this shouldn’t necessary considering that not all companies are required to file a trademark. Facebook has international companies though so handling it via a registration system makes sense. I doubt Facebook confirms registration numbers so it could get a bit tricky.
If you have a legitimate company and a trademark but don’t have 1,000 fans on your Facebook Page or are concerned someone will try to steal your name, go fill out the username rights form. When Facebook first launched their Pages product, numerous people jumped at the opportunity to build fan bases for companies that they didn’t own. Some of those pages were eventually removed while others were transferred over to the brand owners.
Will you be locking in your name? Do you have a trademark? Do you already have 1,000 fans?
Just tried to do this but it won’t let you leave the registration # field blank … don’t know what to use!
I believe that Facebook is only offering this protection to names that are registered as trademarks, so the number to enter is the registration number as issued on the Certificate of Registration by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
One question is what to do if you have a trademark registration that is still in pending, but not issued, status (which a lot are, given the length of time the filing takes to get approved). I’ve heard one intellectual property attorney recommending that you register pending trademarks with Facebook by using the serial number assigned by the USPTO to your trademark filing.
My experience: I got an auto-reply from Facebook when I registered a trademark with its registration number, but I didn’t get an auto-reply when I registered another trademark that hadn’t been issued yet, so I used its serial number - so maybe Facebook is using a screen to detect valid registration numbers.
trademark registration number from the patent and trademark office.
I used my registration number, event though my trademark is pending. I thought I should just send something, just in case.
If you have registered your TM, and need your number, just search for your record here:
http://www.uspto.gov/
The twelfth or so item in your record is your registration number.
For instance, here’s our record:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4001:tdaf2f.3.1
Guess who just became facebook.com/dcrealestate??? Nick’s buddy Jesse!!!
I just tried it through your form link but got this message.
“TRADEMARK SUBMISSION CLOSED: We have now closed the trademark submission process so that we may prepare…….”
I like the concept though and will give it another shot later. Thanks for the tip.