A Facebook Page, run by Jonathan Rivera was recently shut down by Facebook due to a complaint of the use of the vanity URL and the use of the trademarked term REALTOR®. He had been made aware of the violation after selecting his vanity URL, but as Facebook’s guidelines state: “You will not be able to edit or transfer this username once you set it.” The irony of this story is that when Jonathan was made aware of the violation he tried to reach out & contact Facebook to correct it, but was unable to do so. He tried desperately to be in compliance with NAR rules & regulations. Instead of Facebook allowing him to fix the username, they instead shut down the Real Estate Referral Page completely leaving a network of over 47,000 fans without a home.
This network was not only another fun page on Facebook, but also as he stated in the interview I recently heard, a good source of referrals having delivered over 1,400 referrals around the country to agents for free.
This is just once again another reason why it is important to know what laws & trademarks exist before picking a username, a web address or anything. It will be interesting to see what happens with this as things move forward. Jonathan has been working diligently to get the page reinstated, and from his interview with Techsavvy Agent, NAR was being agreeable in him keeping the page as long as the username gets changed.
Only time will tell what happens with this. One thing I surely learned from this is that I will definitely think twice before selecting the next vanity URL for a Facebook Page.
Originally Posted at: 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors
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Jeremy, Interesting! Thanks for reminding us to use trademarks when needed.
This is an amazing story, Jeremy. Makes me wonder whether FB really has the support necessary to handle all of the use that it attracts.
Jeremy:
Did that happen today? I have not been on FB yet and that is a page I check at least once a day for possible referrals. I have submitted a couple myself there. Wow,.
Hope all is well!
Lisa
This is a really good post for me as I become more and more involved in social media. I think I will go back and re-read those sections of the law so that I do not inadvertently step over any boundaries.
Hi Jeremy-I've got to double check all of my user names etc. I admit, I've used the term REALTOR before without thinking about it's trademark.
Jeremy, extremely relevant post. I have suggested for a feature.
That's an incredible amount of hard work down the drain. I hope he'll be able to reinstate. If not, I will gladly take in his 47,000 fans so that they will not remain homeless.
Jeremy- Very interesting news. The use of Realtor® certainly has been getting attention lately. A good reminder to us all about the trademarks for agents everywhere.
Thanks for the post. Very important news for us all to consider and follow. Woody
I did change the name on my Facebook Fan Page awhile ago. However for the life of me I can't remember how I did it. But it clearly told me I had one change and one change only.
Jeremy - I won't use the term Realtor anywhere, since you practically cannot. I say "real estate agent". Poor Jonathan.
Jeremy...what a lesson learned..but, has it been learned? When speaking of the profession, one can use the trademarked name, but in speaking of or giving one's self a user, nick, or ID name I can see that THAT would be an infringement. Facebook doesn't seem too social here if it will not allow a user-name change to take place. So many items that must be carefully considered.
Thanks for this posting--it does refresh those classes taken to become an agent.
Barb & Sal
Hi Jeremy,
You learn something new every day !!!!
Thank you
I guess most of us check the box saying we read the terms of service even though we haven't. Might be time to start reading them.
It is important to know the rules for tradenames, etc... But I thought FaceBook allowed one change. Maybe not...
Jeremy, I am glad nobody yet has trademaked the words "life" and "breathe". Or we won;t be doing either one.
Realtor is a generically used term, and this usage is by general publid and real estate community alike.
Are there any other examples of general terms being hijacked trademarked
Jeremy readers need to take this seriously, and I am sure that we will be hearing of a lot more incidents like this.
I think of Facebook as The Wizard of Oz. There is someone behind a curtain that you are afraid of but can't reach. Thge powers that be behind Facebook are a total enigma.
It's unfortunate they have no system of allowing you to change things.
I side with FaceBook on this one. First, he violated the NAR standards. And FaceBook clearly tells you that you cannot change or transfer a user name. Kinda like crying orphan after you've killed both of your parents . . .
No wonder why I can't see that page anymore. FB really should have let him change it. That is the sad part.
Wow, that's a lot of hard work that's down the drain !!!!!!
You are right. You better make sure that you are not in violation of any trademark before securing a username. It also goes to show you that Facebook has total control of the network, even when both sides agree to keep the site up.
BTW, I just set up a username yesterday hopefully no one will object to homeloansbydarrell :)
This is a lesson that I learned a while ago. Do not mess with the Realtor trademark. There are a lot of rules involved when using the word. It is risky to use it in names and titles that will be difficult to change.
Jeremy, what was the username so we are aware of the correct or incorrect usage?
HE is not blaming NAR for policing their trademark. He is just hoping that Facebook will allow him to recover the page and pick a new url. Wondering if anyone has seen a precedent for that?
He has a funny post here ... his first where he says "STOP you may be using Facebook wrong."
Is he / was he ever a Realtor or RE agent or just a tech guy? Kind of a social media guru?
Trademark and Copyright Infringement happen daily. When in doubt, reach out and ask questions.
The usage rules for REALTOR(R) are pretty cut and dry. Just because you are one does not give you the right to use the trademark in any way you see fit. NAR has restrictions on its usage to protect the mark.
In our second book we worked with NAR to get their permission to use the mark and portions of the COE. I have copies of their approvals in the files. We attemped to obtain permission from a smaller trade association to highlight them as well, but they refused to even respond to requests. We dropped them from the draft.
Infringement is not a game and can come with hefty price tags.
Tom
See http://www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/trademarklogorules for details on the correct usage of the REALTOR(R) trademark.
Tom
This is why It is important not to become to dependant on any one technology. There is a very good chance he will never get this page reinstated.... You wouldn't have this sort of problem if you designed your own campaign, (preferably without PPC) on the web using simple HTML sites and connect them. Social Media is a crutch... it should never be used to solve all of your problems.
Thats too bad, I'm sure the title was done in a quick moment setting up the page, but you'd hope to think twice before using a trademark in something that is clearly going to be seen by a lot of people and a trademark that you dont even come close to being to own yourself.
Ted Cantu wrote: "You wouldn't have this sort of problem if you designed your own campaign, (preferably without PPC) on the web using simple HTML sites and connect them. Social Media is a crutch... it should never be used to solve all of your problems."
Why the distinction of no PPC?
He's got a WP.org site not sure if he was using the FB site to get traffic on his WP site. He is a tech guy... he was advising real estate agents (Realtors) on technology and social media.
This is a basic rule that I thought was common knowledge. I reently emailed the CEO of our Board after reading the post by Jim Frimmer on how to type in REALTOR® and using the keyboard numbers to do it properly. That turned out not to be common knowledge, but I would think that any NAR member would know this. Have we determined whether he is a member?
If he knew it up front, I wonder why he didn't just delete that page and start over again with one that wasn't controversial?
I received an email about this from Jonathan. Hopefully, he can establish a new page. It is too bad that facebook would not work with him in this situation... however, I think the NAR guidelines are pretty clear. I hope there is another referral page soon!
Wow, this is a tough lesson to learn. I hope it is resolved by all parties. Thanks for the information.
Jeremey,
WOW....so many folks set up their URL's with just a few keystrokes....would you please post this to the group facebook fanatics This is a valuable piece of information and I would like to feature it there!
My outside blog used to be called www.realtorchitchat.com
After having the site up and running for over 6 months I was contacted by NAR that I cannot use that domain name.
Thus, I changed my domain name to www.homechitchat.com
That really bothers me.
If I'm a paying member in good status, I feel that I should be able to use the word realtor in any sensible way I choose that is not defamatory.
Facebook is IMPOSSIBLE to get in touch with directly. You have ONE chance to change your custom URL, I did it with my Facebook page the other day. I wonder if Jonathan did his research or if there was a glitch at the time he tried to change his URL?
So much for FB "customer service"!
Thanks for all the support here guys. This is buzzzzzzzzzing!!! AR Rocks
He probably should have known better. Nevertheless, that's a real shame and he's probably not the only one. It certainly gives us all fair warning to be very careful about FB pages.
I opened up my MLS this morning to find this delightful cartoon from NAR about our need to protect our trademark. Thought it was appropriate to post here. Unfortunately I haven't posted enough video's to remember how so here is the link. May be one of you can post the video.
NAR Tradmark cartoon
Jeremy - thanks for the information regarding trademarks and FB. Great post!
Kathryn- While it may be true that FB does not have the proper support, their page specifically says that you can't change it once you get it.
Lisa- From what I can tell, it had happened yesterday morning that the page got shut off.
Erika- You are not alone. When I was on staff w/AR I would have to change at least one or 2 usernames a week because of this.
Patsy- I doubt they will reinstate. As for the fans, it will be almost impossible for him to get them all back because there is no way of communicating with them all at once anymore.
Cindy- If you were able to do so, you must have some special connection! I am a part of a few that changed their biz name and wanted to update the FB page and has contacted FB several times with zero luck to get any type of response.
Wendy- I am the same way. I actually made a video the other week using real-A-tor and someone complained. NAR said I didn't need to really do anything, but I still changed it just to not deal with more complaints into them.
Barb & Sal- It was a good refresher for all I eblieve.
Hey Robert! Yes, we live we learn daily!
Damon- I too am guilty as charged at times! I don't wanna read all that mumbo jumbo.
Lane- As far as I can tell & remember, they only give you one shot & that is it. So if you mispell your name like I have seen others do, you are stuck with it.
Jon- I feel you on this one... it is a little crazy to me too.
George- Unfortunately I think you are right! I have already seen several cases of this, but I am sure more will come.
Jane- LOL @ OZ
Bill- I can understand why. The site is beyond overworked already. Adding edits in would just make the thing blow up! AR has spoiled us by allowing us to change stuff as the different way the wind blows.
Richard- I would really side w/Facebook to on this issue, they made it clear that you only have one shot at it. It isn't their fault a trademarked term was used.
Jackie- YEs a lot of hard work gone, but I couldn't side with the page because FB makes it clear their rules.
Michael- You aren't kidding! A lot gone #poof!
Darrell- I think you will be safe :)
Rick- There are a lot of rules attached to it, and unfortunately NAR doesn't always make it easy for people to read and obtain what they are if you are outside the industry. But on their part, they normally give warnings before dropping the iron fist.
Marney- I believe the page was http://facebook.com/socialrealtors
Mauree- You are correct! I am not sure though if he was in RE or not.
Tom- Thanks for sharing the Rules for those that may not be aware of them!
Ted- I agree partially with you. Sites like FB, Twitter, & AR should not be your only crutch for marketing, but you need to be using them as well as they are super sources of leads. They just need to be used properly.
Morgan- I think it was done quickly, but I also think he may not have known the rules of using the trademarked term.
Maureen- I like Ted am not a big fan of using money on PPC, i prefer using the efforts & $$ to have fully optimized sites that rank at the top of search engines for your keywords constantly without having to pay to keep them there.
Joe- I do not believe Jonathan was a member.
Richard- I think it was brought to his attention long after the fact.
Joan, I am guessing he will need to just switch to another one soon.
Michael- So True... if you don't play by FB's rules, you can lose out big time!
Cheryl- A very tough lesson, I hope there might be a resolution, but I doubt it, because if FB does it for one, they open a HUGE can of worms for other cases too in the future.
Lori- DONE!
Ralph- Yeah you would think that would be the case, but unfortunately it isnt!
Aaron- once you pick a vanity URL there is no changing it.
Linda- I wouldn't diss their customer service, I think it is more that they set their rules for a reason. Think about this, if you have over 400 million people wanting to change things over & over, the site would blow up!
Kate- he definitely isn't the only one! I have heard numerous cases of this!
Marilyn- good video, thanks for sharing!
Sharon- You are welcome!
I think it that realy sucks. I hope he is able to regain his following (as I am sure he will because his followers are probably keeping up with the story and watching for updates.
It may even be a blessing in disguise -- good PR for him and a chance to get rid of the 85% of those fans who clicked once and will never think of him or the page again
It makes you wonder if FB really has enough people on staff to take care of many of the users issues. To me, this could have been easily taken care of if they allowed him to change the name.
Jeremy:
Great points, thanks for watching out for us!
Hi Jeremy. I read that he had some opportunities to change it and was contacted numerous times but he chose not to change it from Social Realtors to something else. It's too bad though that it has not been reinstated with another name as of yet.
Wow - what a way to find out that you screwed up! I hope all goes well for him.
It's unfortunate, but most of us just click "accept" to terms of service without ever reading them. This is an indication of what CAN happen. It is unfortunate that Facebook didn't respond favorably to Jonathan's attempt to correct the URL, and I do think that was unreasonable. Obviously they can't change it willy-nilly every time a business changes its mind about the vanity URL, but some circumstances surely justify it - this is one of them.
I had a problem with facebook also. It took me weeks of relentlesly trying to correct it before they finally got me back on line. Thanks for the reminder.
Hi Jeremy, I didn't realize he was not a member. That makes a big difference, he doesn't have the right to use the trademark. It is how members can/cannot use it that sometimes is murky.
It does not make any difference if you are a member or not. His URL socialrealtor can't be used by a member or a non member ... unless your name is social.
Facebook has been abusing its members lately. It recently shut down the Boycott BP Group with over 750,000 Members. After a public and media outcry, it reinstated the page, however, most of us who run Facebook Groups, have already set up other vehicles in place (websites, Forums, other Social Mediums). Facebook is ripe for a takeover of a more democratic Social Medium.
This is now featured on the Optimist Group. Thanks for your always fine work, Jeremy!
I'll be honest, this is one time I don't blame Facebook. There was a trademark violation, and there was also a clear statement from FB long before the ID was picked. If you have a URL for a site in violation, you have to go & start over there too.
FB user service is horrible...just another example
I just experienced the Facebook, no change policy, recently myself. When setting up a Facebook fan page it is wise to create it in your own name rather than your name and company name. Recently, I switched brokerages and my Facebook page had was originally created in both my name and previous companies name. I was not able to modify the company name and I had to completely start a new fan page. Not a very fun day contacting fans asking them to join my new fan page.
bummer, always checked that page for potential referrals. Rules are rules though.
You pointed out the irony. Ignorance of the laws (rules) has never been an easy hurdle. Too bad they just didn't agree to have the name get changed. At least he tried to do that, and was willing.
I'm glad to hear that NAR wasn't actually the Bad Guy here. I, too, am (was) a follower of that FB group and I received Jonathan's initial message about the page being shut down. At first I thought it was NAR being greedy again, but I'm not surprised to find out that FB is really the one at fault.
I've had issues with FB customer support (or lack thereof) and have never had luck getting any of my questions or issues resolved. They really need to get on the ball here, especially as the site is becoming another plausible business platform.
WOW! with all the work that one puts forth to get to 47,000 fans its a shame that a better resolution could not have been reached. GREAT POST
Too bad to learn that lesson the hard way. I wasn't on the page, but maybe he'll be able to set up a new one (correctly).
When I 1st became a Realtor I selected Uber Realtor as my "tag line" and set up all sorts of socail media accounts using this name. I didn't even think/realize that I was a trademark infridgement. Last week I was notified by NAR of the issue and have been working since then to be in complaince with the NAR Rules and Guidelines.
Me Bad - :( But it's my own fault and if I loose an account or page because of it that's too bad, but it is what it is.
Gotta think before we pick our ID's.
Thanks for the insight, Jeremy. This sounds as if it was an innocent enough mistake with dire consequences. The sad thing is that Jonathan tried to right the error, but couldn't.
While NAR is just enforcing the trademark, I'd like to see Facebook be a little more flexible and responsive. Mariana Wagner is also rebuilding their following on the WagnerITeam page after it mysteriously disappeared.
I am shocked by this, but it appears that Facebook has reinstated the page. You can see it here:http://210consulting.com/2010/07/15/facebook-page-of-47000-gets-reinstated-after-facebook-shut-it-down-for-trademark-violation/
I saw Mariana say something about their page disappearing. That is a shame.
Michelle D. said Jonathan got his page back? URL changed? NAR and others went to bat for him?
wow jeremy this is really a cautonary blog and really hits home. There was so much work done on this page for it to be destroyed.
Oops! Always read the TOS before you make those kinds of changes.
FB has the worst customer service in my opinion. Sad it was shut down.
FaceBook...
Can be such a pain in the --- I tried to get them to let me change over to my branded name and they still haven't answered me. What they are doing now, is everytime I log into FB, they ask me verify my pc. They've been doing that to me since I made the request. It goes on all day long, every day. Ever verification goes to my iPhone in the form of another text message. They're driving me crazy and that's probably not a good thing :)
TLW...ROAR!
TLW- Facebook is their own animal & beast... they do as they want when they want!
Jeremy...
Do you know if there's a way to get the *verify pc* to stop?
I can't figure that one out for the life of me. I tried and failed :)
TLW...ROAR!
Hmmm... I wish I could give you an answer to that one... my guess is that it isn't recognizing your location as being local to the location listed on your site. I know when I am doing work for a client & have to sometimes log in as them I have to verify the computer.
Ah Ha...
I moved. Thank you Man. I think I can fix this now :)
TLW...ROAR!
Great post! Just an update... The page has been reinstated for quite awhile. Which is a great thing to connect with other agents for referrals!