In Social Media, Who Owns the Name?
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If you follow Mashable on Google Buzz, you’ve already seen the note on the recent flap with restaurant chain Denny’s and Twitter. Due to a printing, or perhaps marketing, error, Denny’s dine-in menus nationwide have the incorrect Twitter address printed on them. Where the eatery chain currently manages two official accounts at DennysAllNightr and DennysGrandSlam, the Twitter account listed (@Dennys) belongs to somebody in Taiwan. While the account had been dormant for several months, its owner has recently started tweeting again, and the powers that be at Denny’s are hoping to claim the account from Twitter rather than spend the money to have thousands of menus reprinted.
Reading the train of comments in Mashable’s Buzz thread on this topic, one might wonder if it will cost more for Denny’s to get the prized Twitter handle. “He (@Dennys) should be able to sell it,” comments one follower, while others joke about the restaurant trading the account for free breakfast for life (for the record, Taiwan has no Denny’s locations; the closest this guy will have to travel is New Zealand for free pancakes).
This brings up an interesting point, and an inevitability a business may have to face with regards to social media. In years past people have debated over the purchasing of specific domain names and the legality and ethics of claiming a trademarked name – you might recall the row caused a decade ago when Archie Comics threatened to sue the parents of a young girl named Veronica, the subject of a site at www.veronica.org. The suit was later dropped, and the site no longer exists. These days, “cybersquatting” is defined as the act of intentionally purchasing a domain name with a trademarked name in order to capitalize on its sale. While Veronica’s parents hadn’t set out to extort money (it’s said they didn’t realize Archie Comics had trademarked the name), this legislation has arguably discouraged mass spends on URLs.
The Denny’s situation may give rise to a new breed of squatters, as people claim Twitter handles and Facebook vanity URLs of known brands. Could “social-squatting” become a new term and a new headache for companies to deal with? When somebody registers for a Twitter account, who ultimately has the right to decide if the owner should part with the name – the owner or Twitter? Can or should one be able to sell the rights to a Twitter handle?
When one considers the ease of which one can apply for a Twitter account, the ability to claim a trademarked name can happen in seconds. Presently, Twitter offers no alert system for refusing applicants who pick trademarks for their user names. Looking at my desk, I have products by Blue Diamond almonds, Revolution Tea, and Splenda. Checking @BlueDiamond reveals that handle is not being used, @splenda is taken, as is @revolutiontea, but apparently not by the company. Right here two companies are unable to tweet through their brands.
What does this mean for the small business integrating social media into marketing? For one, it’s important to lay claim to your brands in these networks before somebody else does. Especially if you have a recognizable name, people will search for you online, and with blended results Twitter account and other networks will show, so have your bases covered. If somebody has beaten you to the punch, it’s up to you to decide how badly you want your name, and hope the current owner isn’t wondering about the size of your wallet.
Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with social media optimization and travel social media services. Clients include Gainesville hotels, European hotels, and Virginia web design firms.
