Is Facebook's Like button a trademark, copyright? Youtube violates it or not?

Ok, as everybody knows, these are Facebook's infamous Like buttons




And this is Like button Youtube added below videos as a replacement for star rating system



so, can someone explain me, does Youtube violates some trademark, copyright or whatever?

I suppose Facebook can't trademark the word "Like", but they could claim that this is confusingly similar to their button - It has word Like, on the left side is hand icon with thumb up.

Is Youtube's button design different enough or Facebook simply can't make a case around button, or...I don't know, I don't understand legal world, so I'm asking here if someone who does can explain me a little better.

If I make my own site with my site's internal Like button, can I use something very similar to Facebook's like Youtube does?

 

Wow, I hadn't even thought about the similarity in the buttons - will be interesting to see if someone has some answers about this! Knowing FB, geez - you'd think they'd be all over that, right?

 

YouTube's button, has a thumbs down button with this....i don't think there is an issue.

 

i don't think it matters that thumbs down button is next to it.
thumbs up is still almost the same as Facebook's like button

 

I think they got that from another company or else there's a million that look the same.

 

How many different ways can you draw a "thumbs up"? I think their background is just different enough to pass any legal challenge.

Besides, one of them will probably end up buying out the other in a year or two, and it's usually a waste of time to sue yourself.

 

not many different ways for thumbs up, but when you add word Like to the right of it, that starts to remind you of someone

 

Also, it's not like no company before FaceBook has used a thumbs up symbol to show whether you like something

I am pretty sure that any copyright Judge would laugh the claim out of Court

 

(I apologise for the lack of live links.) The replies here seem pretty sensible to me.

It's extremely unlikely Facebook could get a trademark on this. It's not clear to me what product or service the word 'Like' is identifying (as opposed to, say, the word 'Facebook', which identifies a social network). Even if it passes that hurdle, it's likely to be rejected as a descriptive term (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_distinctiveness) - if Facebook had decided to use (what would no doubt by now be) a neologism or used an arbitrary term like 'Salty Goodness', they would have had a stronger case.

The word 'Like' isn't copyrightable - there's no creativity or originality (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_copyright_law#Compilations_and_the_sweat_of_the_brow_doctrine). It's possible that the Facebook button as a whole shows sufficient creative expression to qualify, though of course they're not the first people to juxtapose some text and an icon on a button. If it were found to be copyrighted, whether YouTube's example infringes would depend on how similar buttons were. YouTube's like button has a different icon, a different shape, a different colour, etc. I would argue that it incorporates the idea of the Facebook button (which is not copyrightable), but does not incorporate the expression (which is copyrightable - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea-expression_divide).

Some may suggest that the YouTube button is a derivative work (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_work), which is possible, though I would guess the YouTube button shows sufficient originality (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Originality), particularly given the lack of the same in the Facebook button, to be classed as an original work.

This is based on US IP law - other countries may vary. Also IANAL, so please find someone more competent if you need real legal advice.

 

thanks for your opinion.
It doesn't look like there will be more competent legal person watching this thread, so I guess your post is the most detailed and complete here.

I guess the point is the same - we all see similarity but it will be THE question if law would consider it different enough or not, so we could know final verdict only if that case happens

 

Hello..Seems very interesting. It will be great..