X
Business

Lamebook won't take threats, sues Facebook

Facebook parody site got sick of threats of a trademark infringement lawsuit from Facebook so it decided to strike first.
Written by Caroline McCarthy, Contributor
481347-460-136.jpg
Credit: Lamebook

Get this one: A site called "Lamebook" that mocks bad and silly Facebook content had been threatened with a trademark infringement lawsuit from Facebook, so it decided to sue Facebook first. It may sound silly, but Lamebook's rationale is that it's a very obvious parody and hence is protected by the First Amendment.

"Unlike the Facebook website, the Lamebook website does not offer social-networking services or functionality to its users and, therefore, does not compete with Facebook," the complaint explained, adding that Facebook's repeated threats of a lawsuit began in March.

Facebook has, in recent months, begun to engage in legal action against the operators of sites that use the suffix "-book" in their titles, like Teachbook and Placebook. Lamebook may indeed have a point in that it's not a social-networking site and that it intends to parody Facebook interactions, but its logo and blue-and-white color scheme may ape the Facebook logo a little too closely.

For more on this story, read Windows Phone 7 has an app kill switch, too on CNET News.

Editorial standards