04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
Protecting Trademarks on Social Media
Topics Covered
04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
Current Situation in Social Media
Complications for Trademark Owners
Approaches to Protection
Social Media is Exploding
04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
You’ve heard of : 130 million120 million
120 million
120 million
120 million
But have you heard of….
100 million
…and the Thousands of “smaller” niche players with millions of members each
500 million
160 million
200 million
Social Media is Mainstream
04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
• 60% of Internet users are members of Social Media Networks – PC Advisor
• Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web – NY Times
• More than 21% of cell phone users visit social media from their phones - Comscore
• Americans spend 25% of their time online on social networks - Nielsen
• 25% of search results for the World’s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content - Nielsen
Usernames are the Internet’s New Brand Identifiers
04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
Evolution Online for Trademark Professionals
200 million domain names (90M are .com)
2 billion usernames on top 20 social networks 25% of search results… are links to user
generated content and this is growing
Complication – No Barriers to Obtain
Usernames are:
• Free to obtain
• First come - first served
• Typically have profile pages
• Indexed by search engines
• Receive traffic and can be monetized
• Typically NOT Reused
Complication - No Protection Mechanisms
Domain Names - ControlledToday
• UDRP (Uniform Domain Resolution Policy)
• WHOIS• Anti-Cybersquatting• In-Rem • Sunrise periods
Coming Soon• Uniform Rapid Suspension• Trademark Clearinghouse• IP Claims
Usernames – UNCONTROLLED
Usernames are the Wild Westwhen compared to Domain Names
Today• No Dispute Policy• No Gatekeepers• No Group
Coming Soon• Nothing• Nothing• Nothing
Complication - Everything Old is New
• Direct infringement
• Derogatory and defamatory speech
• Blatantly false information
• Impersonation of executives
Question
What should I do to protect my Trademark’s Usernames in
Social Media?
Apply the lessons from Domain Names
04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
Best Practice – Be Proactive & Not Reactive
• Reserve your trademarks and key executives as Usernames
• Identify infringement early
The Costs - Business Case
04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
Proactive – Reserve Now
• Package cost ~ $ 349 one time fee
• Trademark secured on 100 social networks
• Watch the rest
Reactive - Do Nothing
• Assume 50 are taken• Assume 10 are of concern• Conduct Investigation
Cost: $500 x 10 = $5000• Send takedown letters
Cost: $500 x 10 = $5000• Sub-total cost: $10,000• 50% success rate (5 of 10)• Repeat as infractions
occur Cost: $1,000/incident
Example: Secure house brand in top 100 social networks
Avoid “I think we have people handling this”
04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
Best Practices Dictates this should be owned by Legal
•This is a trademark protection and enforcement issue How is it being managed? Who are keeping the records? Is it anonymous or public? Who is ensuring the accounts remain active?
•Domain Name Registrars are not in this business
•Marketing Departments - may address some issues (quick Free Search on TM.Biz and you’ll know)
Evaluate Benefits and Risks
04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
Proactive Avoid confusion Avoid loss of revenue Avoid embarrassment Avoid damage control Far less expensive
than recovery/clean-up efforts
Reactive Consumer confusion Loss of revenue Loss of reputation Legal fees Recovery may not be
successful
04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
•Reserve trademarks and key executives as usernames
•Include social media availability searches for all new name creation efforts
•Monitor for emerging social networks to avoid surprises
•Investigate “taken” usernames for trademark infringement
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04/10/23Copyright 2010 TM.Biz
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