Facebook settles trademark lawsuit with Timelines Inc

Facebook and Timelines Inc. have reportedly entered into a settlement, putting to an end a two-year trademark tussle regarding the term "Timeline".

Anuradha Shetty|May 06, 2013, 12:42:02 IST

Facebook and Timelines Inc. have reportedly entered into a settlement, putting to an end a two-year trademark tussle regarding the term "Timeline". The battle started in September 2011, when Timelines.com sued Facebook for using the word for its Facebook Timeline. The company feared that if the social networking giant went ahead with its Timeline feature, it would essentially eliminate Timelines.com, as well as cause people to think that Timelines.com was associated with Facebook.

Facebook made this revelation in its latest 10-Q report, wherein it said, "We are also party to various legal proceedings and claims which arise in the ordinary course of business. Among these legal matters, in two cases, Summit 6 LLC v. Research in Motion Corporation et al. , and Timelines, Inc. v. Facebook, Inc. , we have reached agreements to settle the matters. The cost of settlement in each case, which is included in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2013, was not material to our business, financial condition, or results of operations." Chrome who?

Settles matters

Timelines.com makes timelines on topics like the Civil War. The website lets users create or view multimedia-rich timelines and has been around for about five years. The site has also partnered with publications like The Boston Globe to create timelines for different sports teams.

Facebook's Timeline has been a widely discussed topic in recent times. It recently generated a lot of buzz when the social network made the new Timeline design public. Facebook claims the new Timeline will help users express what's important to them.