Lamebook won't take threats, sues Facebook
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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.
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. . . . . and they will take-on the Government using the word, "Textbook"?
Here's a few titles for someone to USE FREELY,
Blamebook
Nutsbook
Mybook
Yourbook
Alienbook
Dumbbook
Stupidbook
Suebook
Courtbook
LawsiutBook
Jailbook
ETC.book
Forgot one, IDIOTBOOK.
Don't worry about it. When companies get to the point where they resort to court action rather than innovation and technology they have already passed the point of recovery. Sell your stock now!
Nope--parody comes under the "fair use" exception. If it looked too different it wouldn't be an effective parody. That's why Saturday Night Live can do skits that have so many elements of the copyrighted work being satirized.
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