Facebook Trying To Trademark “Face” and “Book,” Eventually Taking Away All Nouns

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Facebook's Logo on a computer screen in Brussels

REUTERS/Thierry Roge

First, they came for our privacy. Now, they want to take two very common nouns, too.

TechCrunch reports that Facebook is trying to trademark the word “Face.” This means that companies with names starting with “Face” could be in trouble. Even a former classmate of founder Mark Zuckerberg, Aaron Greenspan, runs a mobile-payments app called FaceCash, and Apple owns the FaceTime video-chatting option on the iPhone.

“Book” is also in jeopardy. Facebook filed suit against Teachbook.com, a social network for teachers. Facebook also threatened location-based service Placebook to change their name. At first they joked they would just change the pronunciation, but ultimately admitted they would have to change their name.

Next on Facebook’s list of nouns to acquire? “Like.” Watch out, one-syllable words. You could be in danger, too.