Can I use "Facebook" in a domain name?

Under the ACPA, a trademark owner may bring a cause of action against a domain name registrant who (1) has a bad faith intent to profit from the mark and (2) registers, traffics in, or uses a domain name that is (a) identical or confusingly similar to a distinctive mark, (b) identical or confusingly similar to or dilutive of a famous mark, or (c) is a trademark protected by 18 U.S.C. § 706 The ACPA also requires that the mark be distinctive or famous at the time of registration.


In determining whether the domain name registrant has a bad faith intent to profit a court may consider many factors including nine that are outlined in the statute:

1. the registrant's trademark or other intellectual property rights in the domain name;
2. whether the domain name contains the registrant's legal or common name;
3. the registrant's prior use of the domain name in connection with the bona fide offering of goods or services;
4. the registrant's bona fide noncommercial or fair use of the mark in a site accessible by the domain name;
5. the registrant's intent to divert customers from the mark owner's online location that could harm the goodwill represented by the mark, for commercial gain or with the intent to tarnish or disparage the mark;
6. the registrant's offer to transfer, sell, or otherwise assign the domain name to the mark owner or a third party for financial gain, without having used the mark in a legitimate site;
7. the registrant's providing misleading false contact information when applying for registration of the domain name;
8. the registrant's registration or acquisition of multiple domain names that are identical or confusingly similar to marks of others; and
9. the extent to which the mark in the domain is distinctive or famous.