Branding in a Web app world
Among other things, I’m a trademark lawyer. I’m also a social media enthusiast, and I can prove that by my use of Twitter, Facebook and Friendfeed.
The social media space is aswirl with fast pace conversation and ever-changing memes. New features, companies and third party apps come on the scene every day. Just read Somewhat Frank for awhile to notice that.
I’m learning a lot about new media/social media by reading Geoff Livingston’s book Now is Gone. Brian Solis wrote the introduction, and one of the points that really resonates with me is the fact that modern Web users don’t want to be marketed to. Instead, according to Solis, wise PR activity requires an entity to become a part of the community it serves.
Where does this leave traditional trademark law? Given the cultural environment of the modern web, it would seem anomalous for companies in that space to take a hard-line stance when it comes to trademark protection like they might have in the good ol’ days. Look at the number of apps that play on the name Twitter. When is Google going to say something about ReadBurner which obviously mimicks the name Feedburner?
But these brands have enourmous value. Scott Karp put up this insightful post which led me to consider a new facet of this. The thesis of Scott’s post, I think, is that the value and goodwill of a Web app comes largely from its user base. From a trademark perspective, does this clarify or obscure the analysis? To whom does the goodwill belong? The company or the community around it?
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