Germany’s Merck KGaA has threatened legal action after losing its Facebook page to a United States (US)-based rival Merck & Co, reports TechWorld.
Merck said it intends to initiate an action based on the
apparent takeover of its Facebook page by its similarly named but unrelated
competitor, Merck & Co.
The filing reflects the growing importance of social
networks as marketing tools, with companies willing to go to court to safeguard
their perceived rights on these networks.
Because Facebook is an important marketing device, the page
is of great value, and its misappropriation is causing harm to the company,
said Merck KGaA in the filing.
The company in Darmstadt claims to be the oldest and one of
the largest producers of pharmaceuticals and chemicals worldwide.
The Facebook page contained on Friday information on the
American Merck, which is described as “a global healthcare leader working to
help the world be well.” The site is said to be intended only for residents of
the United States and its territories.
On September 16, it carried a post welcoming users to
“Merck’s official Facebook page!”
Merck in Germany said in the filing that it entered into an
agreement with Facebook on or about March, 2010 for the exclusive use of the
web page.
Merck said it assigned administrative rights to the web page to a
limited number of people, who are its employees, or its external service
provider for registration of domain names and social media user names.
By about October 11 this year, Merck Germany said it found
that it no longer had administrative rights to the page which now had content
that appeared to be “created by, and is related to” Merck & Co in the United States (US).
Remmy Nweke with agency reports.
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