Facebook’s forthcoming Timeline feature has attracted a trademark-infringement lawsuit from a Chicago-based online scrapbooking company, various media outlets reported on Friday.
According to CNET reporter Laura Locke, Timelines.com filed the legal action on September 30. The company, which has been around since 2008, “is claiming that Facebook’s newest platform product could destroy its livelihood,” she added. They are seeking an injunction to prevent the launch of Facebook’s Timeline services, as well as damages.
Mashable’s Ben Parr points out that Timelines.com owns the U.S. trademarks for the website name, as well as for “Timelines” and “Timelines&design.”
The company, which “lets users view and create multimedia timelines for historical events such as the American Civil War or the rise of Apple, Inc,” also has partnered with media organizations, including The Boston Globe, “in order to create timelines for different sports teams,” Parr added.
They argue that if Facebook is allowed to proceed with the launch of their own Timeline feature, it would “essentially eliminate Timelines.com” as well as create, in Parr’s words, “mass confusion” by suggesting that their website is somehow affiliated with Mark Zuckerberg’s social network.

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