great name if you are up for a TM battle, and if done right, you can use it in the nice grey area of proper use wipo established for names like this
a. you're not saying you are facebook
b. you are allowed to say you do facebook web design
in fact, I would slap a TM on 'facebook web design' as soon as you launch
now if you dont' have money to fight FB over TM knowing you could WIN if done right, dump it
but if you want to be in that niche, yeah, you can use it and no way FB is gonna waste time on a C&D IMO
but if they do, explain clearly on site
you are NOT facebook and you DEVELOP facebook pages for celebrities, businesses, etc
so now if FB wants to purse a TM issue, IMO, if you do it right and have the right lawyers, you have no problem
IMO
now you do it wrong and freeze at the first C&D letter you get, then dump it
if you want to do facebook page design work, yeah, it has value to YOU as a user
if you want to only use it to sell adsense minor revenue, then do it right, and you could have a nice term with minor revenue
since it has potential problems, reseller value nil
if you develop it and get revenue from facebook design or adsense
then developed it is worth a multiple of you income
and IMO proper use of this is not a TM issue
now you can get lawyers to argue both sides of the coin all day on this
me, I don't usually use a TM in a domain, unless I own a TM on a word that is generically used with a TM
so yeah, using my name and a TM, I conduct business all over the world, and honestly, never got one C&D from a TM owner
the reason, I'm doing it properly and I'm a known vicious litigant not afraid to enforce my own TM rights
so you come on the net and have a TM and I have a TM and if I combine the two I can create a new TM
anyway, it is a potential TM issue, but, used the right way, it's not
and just because FB is trying to sue some startup doesn't mean they will sue a proper use owner
genericwordfacebook.com and facebookgenericword.com are not always a TM issue, they can if FB wants to pursue them, but proper use protects you
before you do any major development though, get a good TM lawyer and explain your goals
a. you want to do design work for facebook
or
b. you want to put out info on how to facebook design properly and make money from ads and or affilates (both allowed IMO on this)
as long as you are not saying YOU ARE FACEBOOK and don't 'compete' with their core business
no problem IMO, but get legal advice and setup a proper corporation to protect yourself IF you want to purse using a TMgenericterm.com
based on my own experience in using a TM I own in combination with TM's that are now common use phrases, I don't see any major problems you cannot win
but if you don't have money to spend on good legal advise and a way to see real income
waste of time for most
so depending on your use, could make some money
but I'd put my time and energy into something else
but development potential, with a lot of danger zones
so be careful
get expert legal advice
and yes, in some cases a TM can be used legally with a generic term
web design is an industry and not a 'tm' word alone
if it were, no one could say they do web design
so TMwebdesign.com is permitted IMO and it needs proper use to make sure you don't violate a TM right
so grey area here, not for the faint hearted and yeah, you could make money doing
a. facebook web design
b. affiliate or adsense revenue
so use is the only value here
none to resellers who will all be scared of the potential TM issues
so if you like to go against the grain
be careful
you have a right to use the name IMO
and some TM lawyers will say no you don't
and others will say, proper use allows use here
overall
nil value for reseller
potential value to end use only and then it's 36Xincomestream wholesale or 72xincomestream book value
PS read some of the argument facebook has against teachbook, the fact teachbook is a similar site but a niche market and USED facebook's name in advertising is the beef, the alternative to facebook for teachers, yeah that's improper use, so their gripe has nothing compared to this useage, they don't do web design, they're a social media portal, with lousy in house generated pages, and yeah X web design is a common phrase now, myspace, facebook, youtube, so anyone using them in web design industry isn't infringing, since those companies are not web designers and the use is giving the portal free advertising, so where is the 'unfair use'
until a court decides a similar use action against a web design service, it's a grey area and should be legal, but get legal advice if you want to USE it and make money, if you want to speculate on it, drop it
