>There's the fact they're in the same basic industry and a realistic chance that Lamebook could be reasonably confused to be connected to Facebook by a normal person.
The basic industry is the web? That is a stretch. Does that mean anything else is in the basic industry of "physical things"?
Facebook is in the industry of social networking, while Lamebook is a 'lolpics' site targeted at funny things FROM Facebook. It seems like they are clearly doing what Facebook says they are (attempting to piggyback on brand recognition), using satire as a hook to get away with it.
Whether they will succeed I think depends on Facebook's ability to show that this use will harm their name / confuse their customers, and that seems doubtful. In a similar instance, Toys `R' Us successfully forced Guns `R' Us to change names; the case was made that parents would think that Toys `R' Us had a chain of gun stores!
The law is not unfamiliar with your objection. In point of fact it has dealt with this question rather frequently. And no, your made up pathological case has no ground in the law, and no, I do not think the law would slice and dice Facebook and Lamebook into separate industries. Separate industries are, as the link says, things that can not possibly be confused for each other, like a tax service and a farming implement company, not "a web-based social network" and "a web site for satirizing social networks".
Taking your point to its logical conclusion, two companies always differ on some irrelevant dimension; the ability to find some trivial difference will not protect you. It's the usual thing I think we computer programmers tend to forget when arguing about law... you have to convince a judge you're not in the same industry. It's not a computer algorithm that can be gamed with a bit of pathological input and a loudly-yelled "TAKE THAT!", despite how it may sometimes appear.
Though your last paragraph entirely confuses me; you express doubt about the court case going in Facebook's favor, then cite an example that I think is actually sillier than the idea that Facebook might spin off a site or two?
The basic industry is the web? That is a stretch. Does that mean anything else is in the basic industry of "physical things"?
Facebook is in the industry of social networking, while Lamebook is a 'lolpics' site targeted at funny things FROM Facebook. It seems like they are clearly doing what Facebook says they are (attempting to piggyback on brand recognition), using satire as a hook to get away with it.
Whether they will succeed I think depends on Facebook's ability to show that this use will harm their name / confuse their customers, and that seems doubtful. In a similar instance, Toys `R' Us successfully forced Guns `R' Us to change names; the case was made that parents would think that Toys `R' Us had a chain of gun stores!