Shagbook won't take Facebook thrust lying down

The "hottest place to hook up with local singles for no strings attached adult dating" is fighting back against Facebook's demand that it change its name. Shagbook – an outfit based in Windsor, UK – has filed an Answer to Opposition with the United States Patent and Trademark office in response to Facebook's assertion that its …

[Anonymous Coward]

Correction

'...they argue that there's nothing wrong with appending that mildly naughty term to the word "book".'

I believe you mean "prepending" (admittedly slang :D ) or appending "book" to "shag".

[Anonymous Coward]

Hah

First thing I wanted to point out also. Pedantic, I know, sorry. Perhaps 'prefixing'?

[Cunningly Linguistic]

I would have thought...

...that "upending" would be more appropriate given the purpose of Shagbook.

[Anonymous Coward]

Personally,

I'd have called such a site 'black book' but that may be lost on the post-portable-phone audience.

[Giles Jones]

Indeed

The term little black book is prior art to anything on the Internet.

Not to mention address book, phone book and yearbook.

[scarshapedstar]

Yep

Not only is "facebook" a generic term, but I was a college freshman in 2003, and my school was among the first to be supported. I distinctly remember getting an email explaining that Facebook was a digital replacement for the traditional freshman facebook, which made perfect sense given that there didn't seem to BE a physical facebook for my class.

[handle]

Not in the UK

"Facebook" is an American word - I'd never heard of it before the website - so it could be argued that in the UK the company is hanging on to its coat-tails.

[Anonymous Coward]

Four down one million to go

I wonder how hes going to go against ALL the big telcos, I mention this as they all infringe as they produce PHONEBOOK, and there's my Favorited COOKBOOK, I'm sure there's lots more.

[Thomas 4]

Also including

The police suspect information database, known as MaceBook.

[wolfetone]

Delia Smith, Nigella Lawson

So Facebook is taking offence to the word Shagbook, what happens to poor old Delia and Nigella when they release their cookbook?

[Scorchio!!]

Re: Delia Smith, Nigella Lawson

"So Facebook is taking offence to the word Shagbook, what happens to poor old Delia and Nigella when they release their cookbook?"

Shaggedbook?

[Dale Harrison]

Americans will sue anyone for anything...

I'm suprised that Apple hasn't sued people for prepending "i" to every product/service such as the BBC iPlayer etc. And I never understood what the i was for anyway. iNteractive? iThink iTs just a load of balls.

[Anonymous Coward]

Because they would loose....

iPaq's were around well before the iFakes. As was iPhone and IOS. Both of which they had to ask (pay) nicely for....

[ArmanX]

But... I thought they had?

I mean, they sued Amazon for using the name "app store", Motorola Over Multitouch, and even Woolworth's over their logo (it looked like an apple). Oh, and a school, too.

Seriously.

[dssf]

No, you mean "STUPID" North Americans North of

Mexico, South of Canada... Since I prefer to use "America" in the non-hijacked way. Unfortunately, that word usage has soooo much negative baggage associated with it these days that US Citizens with multiple passports and who think worldly are careful to not brandish that US passport for personal safety reasons and to avoid appearance of ostentatiousness. The STUPID ones, though, ARE ostentatious at the international level

I despise many of the patents I see currently or previously issued/granted by the USPTO. Many are heinous.

In the digital age, it is obvious that the collision of cultures and regions means many words will expectedly see even more duplicated application. For example, in the USA, a person in San Francisco can form a company called Acme Rentals (if not already formed/incorporated) and have protection to use it IN San Francisco. if one does so at the state level before one is formed in a city, one might enjoy name/trademark protection at the state leve. Then, for more protection, go to the USPTO.

But, do BANKS gripe and snipe at each other. Imagine if an on line sperm bank formed and called itself "esperm". Will beauticians and perms specialists get huffy and puffy? What if SpermBank.com formed. Would banks come after them. What if SpermBank.com had a jingle/slogan "More BANk BANKG for yout BUCK (thrust/hip movement)". Would it be sued by the company that uses "More BANG for your BUCK" in it's adverts?

This madness needs to end.

[Anonymous Coward]

Schoolbooks and textbooks

Think of the children

:P

[Winkypop]

Who GivesaFuckBook

Sheesh!

[Velv]

Who Givesafuckbook?

Err, isn't that the whole point of the site. To find those peoplecwho do give a fuck ;)

[Mr Young]

yeehaa

Are we witnessing the first singularity created by humans - the USA legal system?

[Anonymous Coward]

Facebook to sue BT for use of PhoneBook

I'm joking of course ... but I suspect they will do it eventually, ha ha

Police will also no longer be able to "throw the book" at criminals, now they must throw unencrypted USB pen drives at them instead, these will contain PDF copies of the law. However, criminals must not use a Mac Book to view the said PDFs on!

[Identity]

What is to become of the English language?

now that it is to be subdivided and owned by our Corporate Overlords? What with Apple owning "i" and "pod" and Facebook owning "face" and "book?" What's next? And do I have to pay them for using their words in this post?

[Maty]

don't forget

Windows (TM)

[Scorchio!!]

Re: don't forget

"Windows (TM)"

"Julian Assange™"

[Anonymous Coward]

just though of new social network idea...

where people can discus how their early morning movements went, I'll call it LogBook

[MarkieMark1]

there already is a place that people describe such activity

it's called Facebook :-)

[Anonymous Coward]

You could get sued

by Vince Cable.

[Scorchio!!]

Re: You could get sued

Haha, not Shagbook but "Cable'slengthbook".

[Number6]

Too Late

Lots of people have used logbooks for many years. Much of what was entered was probably crap, too.

[laird cummings]

90 percent

...of everything is craaaaap.

[g e]

Oh grow up already

If that (admitedly rich) prat Zuckerberg had actually thought of an original name for his operation like humbinko or something idiotically web2.0 then yeah. Instead he took a widely used generic term which itself is formed by joining two common English language words together. Fail.

Else he should be trying to sue blackbook.com and cookbook.com as well and maybe facetious.com and oh, don't forget facetime.com

What a moron.

[Francis Boyle]

Meanwhile

it appears that Arsebook has returned from the grave.

[ravenviz]

what about Arseface?

will they sue for secondary references?

[Anonymous Coward]

Faceparty?

Long ago when I was a sadder younger person, I used Faceparty (Before that Yahoo!, but they made one of their enforced updates that broke everything). I'm sure that this predates Facebook by a bit, so Perhaps Facebook is actually the one that should change it's name. Obiously it can't call itself face anything, because that would be stepping on faceparty's name.

Perhaps Crapville? Sadville?

[Anonymous Coward]

yep

Yeah, Faceparty was around in 2002. One of my friends met his now wife on there in early 2003.

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't forget...

Apple's Facetime.

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone else

taking notes here? :P

And Paris - well has to be doesn't it!

[Just Thinking]

Let's see a real fight

Easybook? ibook?

[nigel69]

Fakebook

Yo La Tengo released an album called Fakebook in 1990, can they sue Facebook?

[Sampler]

"All models are age 18 or older."

Is on the disclaimer for Shagbook - at least this is an honest dating site that admits upfront the pictures used to entice you in aren't the people you're likely to meet in real life if you ever locate a woman on there that doesn't sound like a bunny boiler...

[Eugene Crosser]

"Facepalm"

they should've challenged that too...

[TeeCee]

Re: "Facepalm"

Challenge it? They bloody designed it!

[david 63]

The logical extension is...

... by registering facebook as a TM you, by implication register face and book and presumably cebo.

And good luck with defending a TM that is a common word in use for a physical directory of names and faces before you were born.

Crock of shit.

There should be porridge for vexatious suits.

[frank ly]

Shagbook

My first thought was that it's a spotters guide to sea-birds.

[Anonymous Coward]

Arsebook

At one point, I was contemplating registering arsebook.com. Butt I couldn't be arsed.

Who knows, there could have been many dozens of punters move over from the other side (or should that be "end"?), like this creative soul -

http://www.laurajanewilliams.com/2010/03/arsebook.html

Anyone remember The South Butt?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/02/north_butt/

Paris - Did someone say shag?

[The Infamous Grouse]

Spoonerism

Given the nature of the site he should have just called it Basefuck.com and been done with it. The domain is for sale, apparently.

[The Mighty Spang]

oh ffs

when i move to a position of benelovent dictatorship this is one of things I will come down hard on.

If you can't be bothered to think up an original word to describe your product you have no NO *NO* rights to the individual words you've welded together. think of the problems with easy jet etc.

in fact even raising it in my new world order would mean your website got banned and the CEO was sentanced to an ass raping by Brian Blessed in full Flash Gorden outfitbefore being unblocked (broadcast live on skype - another name you can't really arse around with if you'll pardon the pun)

seriously, plenty of others have got round it like, erm, amazon, bing, hulu, boxee, google,... list could go on forever. its only shit people that have to weld words together.

[MJI]

You know one of those is a German toy manufacturer

Whereas the rest are sort of internet related

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

won't someone think of the ...

deep pile carpet sample salesmen?

[Anonymous Coward]

Join me on my new Social Networking site:

Arsevolume

[TeeCee]

@Thad

Awesome. Does it go up to 11?

[Anonymous Coward]

Eleven?

That's where it starts!

But you wouldn't be able to handle the stink!

:)

[skeptical i]

bluebook.com

Shagbook isn't the only catalog out there, Kelley's Blue Book has been serving up pricing and performance info on new and used since long before the interwebs.

[AbortRetryFail]

Filofux

Back in the 1980's the "Little Black Book" was replaced by the "Filofux" (note spelling) so I guess the "Shagbook" is the next logical extension.

[Juan Inamillion]

Disclaimer

Ha Ha! on Shagbook's front page disclaimer:

"Shag Book ® is not affiliated with Facebook, Facebook of Sex, Fuckbook, or any other site with "Book" in its name."

[Scorchio!!]

Re: Disclaimer

"Ha Ha! on Shagbook's front page disclaimer:

"Shag Book ® is not affiliated with Facebook, Facebook of Sex, Fuckbook, or any other site with "Book" in its name." "

So I did a search:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Facebook+of+Sex&first=1&FORM=PERE

Some of the links surprised even me.

[The Morgan Doctrine]

If Shagbook has the…staying power…they will prevail

My friend once had a product called "PodFitness" that combined workout tutorials with your own playlist. Apple went after him, and rather than defend it he abandoned the name and came up with another. Then Apple decided not to try to own "Pod" stuff. I predict that…awh geeze, forgive the double entendre…if shagbook has the, uh, staying power, they will prevail.

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean...

How long can they keep it up?

[Zog The Undeniable]

***book

Wouldn't it be funny if it were just a load of personal profiles of cormorants along with a really boring list of which fish they'd eaten that day?

[Simon Harris]

The original Shagbook?

Surely this is it...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harris%27s_List_of_Covent_Garden_Ladies

(no relation as far as I know!)

[Tom 13]

Most if not all of the charges

should be summarily dismissed, and with prejudice: appending "Book" to another word is NOT an infringement on their Trademark, assuming their trademark should have been issued in the first place, which it probably should not have been. There could be "look and feel" issues, and there might possibly be core engine issues. Of course, given what FaceBook have tossed back into the freebie bin, that would really be getting down into the muck.

[Anonymous Coward]

""Thus, [Facebook] should be estopped..."

E-stopped? I think that's a bit severe - I mean, you've killed the main power, so you're going to have to rehome things manually if you haven't got absolute encoders, the heaters will have to be brought up to temp... if there's any material in the transport system you'll have to get it out of there, too, and that's going to cause interlock problems, because the damn things never work right when a panel hasn't been opened in two years...

[Colin Millar]

Just for fun

Who's up for starting a Scottish social networking site, calling it macbook and betting on which one gets to the courthouse first?

[Anonymous Coward]

Would that be...

a BIG Macbook?

That makes *three* companies calling the lawyers :)

[dssf]

Shagadelic, Baby!

"Shagbook's filing also asserts that Facebook is being heavy-handed. "[Facebook]'s opposition should be denied under the equitable doctrine of unclean hands," they argue,"

Whose hands are are clean after "shagging", anyway?

""Thus, [Facebook] should be estopped from arguing that it provides services that are the same as or related to the services provided by [Shagbook].""

Estopped AND e-stopped, lol!

[poobumwilly]

Phasebook

It's like Facebook but with added maths... or something else which is much much funnier.

[Scorchio!!]

Re: Phasebook

"It's like Facebook but with added maths... or something else which is much much funnier."

Must. Not. Make. Carol. Vorderman. Joke.