Facebook is both a registered trademark and protected by copyright law. As a company name and brand, Facebook is a registered trademark owned by Meta Platforms, Inc. The Facebook website and mobile app contain copyrighted content like graphics, code, and text that is owned and protected by Meta as well.
Facebook’s Registered Trademarks
Facebook has registered its name and logo with trademark offices around the world, including the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This grants Meta the exclusive right to use the Facebook name commercially in connection with certain products and services, like their social media platform.
Some of Facebook’s registered trademarks in the US include:
- The word mark “Facebook” for online social networking services
- The “f” logo for online social networking services
- “Like” with the thumbs up gesture for enabling shared content on social media
Trademark protection starts as soon as a mark is used in commerce and continues indefinitely as long as the trademark remains in use. However, registering a trademark provides several legal benefits:
- Public notice that the trademark is owned by a particular company or individual
- The ability to sue in federal court for infringement
- The use of the ® registration symbol
- The ability to record the trademark with U.S Customs to prevent importation of infringing goods
Facebook’s Copyrights
In addition to trademark protection, the content on Facebook’s websites and apps is also protected by copyright law. This includes the code, graphics, articles, photographs, videos, and other creative content.
Copyright arises automatically as soon as an original creative work is fixed into a tangible form, such as saved on a computer. Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office provides additional benefits, namely:
- The ability to sue for infringement in federal court
- The ability to claim statutory damages and attorney’s fees in litigation
- A public record of ownership
Facebook has registered multiple versions of its website and mobile app with the Copyright Office. For example, in 2022 Facebook registered versions of its Android and iOS apps. Protecting the code for its apps provides Facebook with strong legal rights to prevent copying and distribution of infringing versions of its apps.
Infringement of Facebook’s Trademarks and Copyrights
Because Facebook has strong trademark and copyright protection, use of their marks or copying of their website and apps without permission can result in legal liability.
Trademark infringement occurs when another company uses Facebook’s name, logos, or other trademarks in a way that is likely to confuse consumers. For example, releasing a social media app called “Facebuk” that uses a similar logo could infringe and dilute Facebook’s trademark rights.
Copyright infringement occurs when someone copies or distributes Facebook’s code, articles, images, videos or other copyrighted content without permission. Examples include:
- Copying and reposting Facebook’s news articles on another website
- Downloading and redistributing Facebook’s mobile apps
- Scraping data from Facebook’s website without consent
In cases of infringement, Facebook can file a lawsuit seeking court orders to stop the infringement, take down content, and award monetary damages. Criminal penalties in the form of fines or jail time may also apply for willful copyright infringement.
Fair Use of Facebook’s Intellectual Property
Not all uses of Facebook’s trademarks or copyrights constitute infringement. There are exceptions to infringement claims, most notably fair use. Under U.S. copyright law, fair use allows for copying of copyrighted material for purposes like criticism, commentary, news reporting, and education.
For example, it would likely be fair use for a news story to embed a screenshot of Facebook’s website or app to report on a news event involving the company. Quoting a short excerpt of a Facebook press release would also likely qualify as fair use. But wholesale copying of Facebook’s website content would go beyond fair use protections.
For trademarks, nominative fair use allows third parties to use Facebook’s name when referring to the company itself. However, unfair uses that could confuse consumers or dilute Facebook’s brand are not permissible.
Conclusion
In summary, Facebook relies on both registered trademarks and copyright law to protect its brand name, logos, website, and mobile apps. Extensive registration of its intellectual property provides strong legal rights to use the courts to stop infringement and misuse of their brand identity and creative content. However, Facebook’s rights are limited by permissible fair uses of its trademarks and copyrights. Proper attribution and avoiding consumer confusion are key to remaining on the right side of Facebook’s intellectual property protections.