Trademark
About Trademark
A trademark is a word, slogan, symbol or design (like a brand name or a logo) that distinguishes the products or services offered by one party from those offered by others. Generally, trademark law seeks to prevent confusion among consumers about who provides or is affiliated with a product or service. The owner of a trademark may be able to prevent others from using its trademark (or a similar trademark) in a way that would confuse people into thinking that there’s a relationship between the trademark owner and a person who isn’t authorized to use the trademark or that the trademark owner endorses that other person’s products or services.
The owner of a trademark may claim rights to a trademark through registration with a recognized trademark office. In certain countries and in certain situations, rights for an unregistered trademark may be created through actual use of the trademark in commerce or business. Keep in mind that just registering a company with a government office or getting a business permit may not by itself create trademark rights.
Learn more about trademarks from the World Intellectual Property Organization. For a list of trademark offices in other countries, visit the WIPO's trademark directory.
We can't provide you with legal advice. If you’re not sure, don't post it on Facebook. Posting content that uses someone else’s trademark without permission could be a violation of the law. If you’ve already posted it, you should remove it from Facebook.
According to the Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, people on Facebook may not infringe someone else’s trademark rights. If you’re unsure if content on Facebook infringes your trademark rights, you may want to seek legal advice.
To learn more about trademark rights, visit the World Intellectual Property Organization's trademark directory.
When we receive a report from someone claiming that content on the site infringes their trademark, we may need to immediately remove that content from Facebook without contacting you first.
If we remove your content because of a trademark claim, you’ll receive a warning from Facebook that includes the contact information of the person or company who made the report. If you believe the content should not have been removed, you can follow up with them directly to try to resolve the issue. You may also be able to contact Facebook if you believe the content should not have been removed. In that event, we’ll include instructions for how to contact us in the warning message we send you.
If the content is removed based on United States trademark rights, you will also be able to contact Facebook directly if you believe the content should not have been removed. In that event, we’ll include instructions for how to contact us in the warning message we send you. Our team will review your submission, and if we determine that your content should not have been removed, we will restore it and notify the reporting party that we have restored that content.
It’s our policy to disable the accounts of people who repeatedly infringe others’ intellectual property rights when appropriate. Please make sure that all content you’ve posted and will post in the future doesn’t violate or infringe the rights of others.
Submitting a claim of trademark infringement is a serious matter with potential legal consequences.
Before you report a claim of trademark infringement to us, you may want to reach out to the person who posted the content. You may be able to resolve the issue simply by bringing it to their attention without contacting Facebook at all.
If you wish to submit a claim of trademark infringement to Facebook, you can fill out this online form. You don’t need a Facebook account to submit a report. If you’re not sure whether the content you’re reporting is infringing your legal rights, you may want to seek legal guidance.
If you choose to submit a report, please be prepared to include a complete trademark claim.
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Reporting Trademark Infringements
If you believe someone is using your trademark without your permission, you can submit this form. Please be prepared to include a complete trademark claim in your report. Keep in mind that you don’t need a Facebook account to submit a report. Before you report a claim of trademark infringement, you may want to send a message to the person who posted the content. You may be able to resolve the issue without contacting Facebook.
You can also learn about copyright.
Only the trademark owner or their authorized representative may report a suspected infringement. If you believe that something on Facebook infringes someone else’s trademark rights, you may want to let the rights owner know.
Some apps you may find on Facebook are created and operated by third-party developers. Facebook doesn’t control the content made available through these apps. If you believe an app developer isn’t following the Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, we suggest contacting the developer directly with your concerns. If you still have issues after contacting the developer, you can file a report.
We’ll process the claim, which may result in removing the reported content from Facebook.
If the content is removed, the party that posted the content will receive a warning letting them know that content they posted to Facebook was removed because of a claim of trademark infringement. We will also provide them with your contact information, including email address and the name of your organization or client, and/or the contents of your report.
If the party that posted the content believes that the content shouldn’t have been removed, they’ll be encouraged to reach out to you to try to resolve the issue directly.
If the content is removed based on United States trademark rights, they will also be able to contact Facebook directly if they believe the content should not have been removed. Our team will review their submission, and if we determine that the content should not have been removed, we will restore it and notify you that we have restored that content.
Keep in mind that if you choose to message the other person directly instead of submitting a claim, Facebook won’t get a copy of your message or be notified about the issue.
When we receive trademark claims through our online form and remove the reported content, we provide the reported user with the following information:
- Report number
- Rights holder’s name
- Email address provided by the reporting party
- Description of the rights holder’s trademark(s)
- Description of the removed content
In rare instances (such as when we are contacted by fax, mail or email), we pass through the report number and a description of the removed content, and additional information can be provided upon request.
For any content that was removed based on United States trademark rights, we will include instructions for how to contact Facebook directly if you believe the content should not have been removed.
The fastest and easiest way to submit a claim of trademark infringement to us is to use our online form. It may be required by law that you include the following information:
- Your complete contact information (full name, mailing address and phone number). Note that we regularly provide your contact information, including your email and the name of your organization or client, and/or the contents of your report to the person who posted the content you're reporting. You may wish to provide a professional or business email address for contact by users.
- The specific word, symbol, etc. in which you claim trademark rights.
- The basis for your claim of trademark rights (such as a national or community registration), including registration number, if applicable.
- The country or jurisdiction in which you claim trademark rights.
- The category of goods and/or services for which you assert rights.
- Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material on Facebook that you believe violates your trademark rights. The easiest way to do this is by providing web addresses (URLs) leading directly to the allegedly infringing content.
- A description of how you believe this content infringes your trademark.
- If you are not the rights holder, an explanation of your relationship to the rights holder.
- A declaration that
- You have a good faith belief that use of the trademark as described above, in the manner you have complained of, is not authorized by the trademark owner, its agent, or the law,
- The information in your notice is accurate, and
- You declare, under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner of a trademark that is allegedly infringed.
- Your electronic signature or physical signature.
If you believe an advertisement infringes your intellectual property rights, you can report it to us. If you submit a report via our online form, please include a direct link to the ad. You can add it to the form by right-clicking on the ad and copying the link location. If you don’t have a direct link to the ad, you can include a link to the Facebook account that was logged in when the ad appeared.