Bad to use 'Facebook' in a domain name?

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Is it really a bad idea to use the word 'Facebook' in a new domain?

I purchased the domain already and began building pages to the site when I learned others have run into problems with brand names in their domain.

Should I just get a new domain and move my site over (no traffic yet anyway)? Or how do I 'cease' using the domain with 'Facebook' in it, before it expires in a year? I got it through GoDaddy.

Thanks for your advise.
#main internet marketing discussion forum #bad #domain #facebook
  • I have a domain for a clickbank product with facebook in it. They haven't come after me (been about 8 months).

    That said, I would avoid the practice when you can. I did have a domain name taken because it had the name of a gym franchise in it. That company specifically hired laywers to browse the whois records for their brand name. My guess is a lot of major companies have that practice.

    It may sound bad, but if you don't want it "taken" from you, you could flippa it!
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    • Do not listen to such IDIOTIC advice, it is not him who will be sued when Facebook come after you for having profited on their mark.

      Never, ever profit from trademarked names, you will only get yourself in trouble and the rest of the community will start to avoid you, you will find it harder and harder to do any kind of legitimate business.

      If I knew you had a facebook domain I would know that eventually they are going to find it and come after it, that means that in time you may find yourself on a list that other companies will want to know what else you have in order to come after you, I simply do not want anything to do with that kind of negative attention and neither will anyone else.
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  • Thanks for the Flippa tip! I might just try that.

    Thanks.
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    • You really shouldn't register a domain with trademark in it. You can lose it, so it would be better to buy a new one..
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  • I would dump it unless you have permission from Facebook to use their trademark. Many CPA/Affiliate companies will allow you to use their trademark, just be sure to ask.
  • I wouldn't. Facebook is growing like crazy so I have a feeling that they will someday start looking out for these things as well.

    Besides, depending on what you want to do with it, you may have trouble finding advertisers who will work with you with a brand name in your URL title.
  • I have 2 domains with the word facebook in it. Haven't had an issue
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    • Yet. One can only hope Facebook won't notice...yet.

      Sigh, and this is one good reason why to instead seek a licensed legal expert
      with real-world experience in these things.

      IMHO, I don't know how else you can possibly use any facebook domain given
      its huge popularity around the planet. Not unless you're not intending to make
      money off of it or exploit their search engine traffic somehow.

      Facebook may be two common words used together. Well, so are Microsoft...
      Burger King...Virgin Cola...AdWords (okay, Google AdWords) and whatever else
      out there.

      The more famous the mark, the harder it'll be to show any "unassociated" use
      to its mark namesake. Arguably users are likely to confuse any domain bearing
      a famous trademark regardless of use other than a few exceptional scenarios,
      and likelihood of confusion is one thing trademarks aim to stop.

      If anything, be ready to deal with the results of your choices.
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Facebook has sent Cease and Desist letters to several people using domains with "Facebook" in them. I would not waste time building up a site that will likely be taken away for violating a trademark.

    Selling it to someone else would be unethical when you know it is just a matter of time before Facebook shuts it down. Just let it go.
  • Banned
    Godaddy allows you to delete a domain. I recommend that you move the site and delete the domain. Flipping it is just ripping someone else off. It was your mistake in registering it. Facebook is very diligent about protecting their trademark.
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  • Normally it's a bad idea to do this kind of thing but with Facebook you shouold be ok as it's owned by a 25 year old kid.
  • I have several domains with the word Facebook in it and as of yet have not got in any trouble with any of them.

    Infact last year I flipped a site with Facebook in the domain for around $500 so think you will be ok!
  • Many sites will use FB instead as it *should* allow you to avoid any issues in the future but people will still associate your domain name with Facebook
  • It depends on what your site is about. If your site is in any way related to social networking the big facebook is probably going to come after you.

    However, if your site was sillyfacebook.xyz and you showed pictures of people making silly faces, it's not related to or infringing on the big facebook's trademarks.

    You'd have to do your own research on what trademarks the big facebook has but those trademarks alone cannot keep you from using facebook, they only keep you from using facebook in the same manner as those trademarks. Which is the whole point of trademarks.
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    • Yes it depends on what you use it for. I have seen plenty of sites like buyfacebookfans.com and the like all over the place. The buy fans businesses are also selling on Flippa like hotcakes.

      You should not have a problem but if you are concerned, you should consider another domain name. Depends on the service you want your domain to describe.
  • I have a facebook domain and havent had any problems. I think it wall depends what you're using that domain to do.
  • I don't know about Facebook but I know someone who had a domain with "Twitter" in it and they make him cease and desist.
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    • From recent experience, I can say that it's not a good idea to use a product brand name in a domain.

      About 3 years ago, I followed the advice in an IM product that suggested building sites with the product name in the domain name. I was just notified that the product of my domain is now defunct. I had to change the posts that referenced this product and linked to it. There were about 8-10 of them.

      Fortunately, the maker of that product also makes other products, so I can still use the site and continue benefiting from my marketing to date. Visitors just won't find the product named that's in the domain or that is referenced in my distributed articles and back links.

      Had this been their only product, what would I have done with a brand-name domain?

      In the case of Facebook, they have the funds to go after you legally if they decide they don't like you using their name. You can work diligently building the site and promoting it, only to lose all that page rank and traffic when you have to shut it down.

      It's not worth the risk, or the work lost.

      Sylvia
  • Something to keep in mind, companies can throw out cease and desist letters and not necessarily have a strong case or legal leg to stand on. Just receiving a C&D is enough for most webmasters to wave the white flag.

    So, just because you've received a C&D, it doesn't mean you've done anything wrong and it could be a case of another company trying to bully you.

    But it's all hypothetical case-by-case until all of the facts are known.
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    • I received one once - not for a domain name, but for using a PLR product that someone else claimed to own. Since I no longer had a membership with him, I was not allowed to use the product. The thing was, I purchased it elsewhere. So when I received his note, I challenged him on it. For weeks. It got a little nasty for awhile. He got tired of arguing with me and ended the conversation with threats to take legal action.

      In the end, I decided that since I do not have his money to hire lawyers, it wasn't worth it. I let him have the da**ed product.

      What I'm saying is that if you get one, it might not be necessary to simply allow yourself to be bossed around. Just take your argument as far as you can, if you think you need to, before giving in. Unless you DO have money for lawyers.

      Sylvia
  • It doesn't seem like a good idea to me, even if they're not complaining right now, why take the chance. Dumping it right now isn't going to cost you much, but if your forced to dump it two years from now after you have put all that work into it and have a good customer base, it's going to cost you a lot!

    Just my thoughts...

    Miles
  • I would not recommend it - it is only a matter of time before Facebook will make you give up the name. Facebook is the #2 website, so I am sure they will win that arm wrestling contest.

    Don't they already have a trademark law in place that says you can't use their name like Google does?? If they don''t already, I am sure it is a matter of time. At minimum you will lose the site. Worst case scenario you could be in a legal battle. You may lose a site you put a lot of work into. Firefox.com was once owned by someone else - guess who won that battle?

    Check out Domain Name Wire - The Domain Industry's News Source for UDRP complaints.....
  • I have decided I will probably just let it go and rebuild the site with a new and different domain name. This way I will avoid any possible hassles later, but I sure do wish I could keep it. I think it is a really good domain name.

    Thanks for all your comments.
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  • I bought the domains: SecretstoFACEBOOKmarketing.com and secretstoTWITTERmarketing.com and see nothing wrong with it.
  • General rule of thumb: If you couldn't trademark your domain name/name of site if you yourself applied to USPTO, DON'T use it. Just save yourself the trouble man and pick another name.

    I know of a guy that was running a site for several years and got taken to court by a company that claimed he infringed on their name, citing potential confusion in the marketplace. He lost and everything he worked for went down the drain.
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