Lawyers Assess Facebook's Chances to Obtain Rights for Facebook.ru Domain

Facebook Inc., creator and owner of the Facebook social network (facebook.com), has demanded the Russian Golden Crown company give up using the facebook.ru domain, which the firm has owned since 2005, according to Russian Kommersant newspaper.

In an interview with Sputnik, lawyers and legal experts argued that Facebook Inc. would easily win the case if it comes to a court trial.

"Facebook Inc. will be fine. The current owner of the domain has a choice — either to lose money in court or try to sell the domain to the American company so that Facebook does not spend money on legal proceedings. In this case, I don't see any third option," Russian legal expert Alexander Bolomatov said.

"Facebook will certainly employ the best lawyers. Moreover, the existing judicial practice speaks in its favor," Bolomatov continued, recalling a case in whice another internet giant, namely Google, had received the rights for the gmail.ru domain in Russia.

Bolomatov's point of view was supported by Russian lawyer Daria Chernysh.

"In disputes with domain owners who registered a domain only for resale purposes courts tend to take side with rightholders. Thus, Facebook has good chances to prohibit the use of its trademark in the domain name," Chernysh told Sputnik.

Representatives of the American company argue that only Facebook has the right to use different versions of the Facebook trademark and noted that its use by any other company is "completely unacceptable."

The US corporation has demanded that Golden Crown stop using its trademark and to transfer the facebook.ru domain, as well as all rights for its use, to Facebook by September 30.

At the same time, the Russian company noted that it had acquired the domain in 2005, three years before Facebook's emergence in Russia. Moreover, its representatives argued that over the past 12 years they have not received any complaints from the American corporation.