Lawyers for FriendFinder and Facebook are meeting this week to hash out a settlement in a trademark infringment lawsuit.
Facebook got mad when FriendFinder Networks launched and heavily promoted the site FacebookOfSex.com, which Facebook lawyers called “a blatant attempt … to hijack Facebook’s fame for illicit financial gain” and a “calculated scheme to capitalize on the fame of Facebook’s marks”. They filed suit in April 2011 to shut down the namealike site.
I’m no lawyer, but Facebook kinda had a point. Parody and satire are protected speech, but FacebookOfSex wasn’t exactly a parody. The actual site FacebookOfSex.com has been offline for some time, and the eventual legal settlement or decision will likely kill it for good.
XBiz reports that the judge okayed an indefinite stay this week while settlement talks proceed.
