Remember Facebook.com’s big 2011 overhaul? Where users once had a "profile," they now had a "timeline" an ever-evolving page that lists "life events" in chronological order. Facebook Inc. did its due diligence before debuting the timeline, and discovered that a small Chicago-based company called Timelines Inc., which operates a website called Timelines.com, has a trademark on the word "timelines." Ultimately, Facebook decided to launch the timeline concept anyway, perhaps figuring it could prevail in a trademark battle with Timelines Inc.
As of last week, a Facebook victory in the ensuing case is far from certain. Last Monday, U.S. District Judge John Darrah in Chicago refused to grant summary judgment to Facebook on Timelines’ trademark infringement claims, ruling that Facebook couldn’t show, as a matter of law, that "timelines" clearly has a generic or descriptive meaning. A trial is scheduled for April 22, pitting Timelines’ lawyers at Reed Smith against Facebook’s lawyers at Cooley LLP and Kirkland & Ellis.
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