PRESS: Facebook wants to get namesake Russian domain for free

MOSCOW, Sep 4 (PRIME) -- The U.S. giant Facebook has demanded free of charge the rights to the Russian domain facebook.ru owned by Center of Financial Technologies, a parent unit of payment system Golden Crown to which facebook.ru redirects requests, business daily Kommersant reported on Monday.

Facebook sent a claim to the center on August 28 asking it to hand over the domain to the U.S. company for free and to stop using the facebook trademark by September 30.

Established in 2004, Facebook is the owner of the world-known social network and the facebook trademark in various writings. The domain uses the brand, which is unacceptable for the U.S. giant. The punishment for such illegal exploitation of the brand could reach 5 million rubles or a double cost of the trademark license.

Facebook wants the center, which has owned the domain since 2005, to immediately stop using the facebook trademark and report on results of considering the claim by Wednesday. The demand was not satisfied as of September 3.

A spokesperson for the center said that it has not received any complaint from Facebook or any other entity regarding the domain over 12 years of its ownership.

(58.0557 rubles – U.S. $1)

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