Facebook has settled year and a half-long litigation with Timelines.com, according to a recent filing with the SEC.
The case involved Chicago-based Timelines.com, which lets users to create interactive “timelines” based on historical events. Back in October of 2011, they sued Facebook for trademark infringement just weeks after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the new Timeline profile page at the company’s f8 conference. Soon after, Facebook countersued, saying that the word “timeline” was generic and did not deserve trademark protection. The trial was supposed to have begun on April 22nd, but was delayed at the last minute.
Here’s the pertinent bit from the filing:
We are also party to various legal proceedings and claims which arise in the ordinary course of business. Among these legal matters, in two cases, Summit 6 LLC v. Research in Motion Corporation et al. , and Timelines, Inc. v. Facebook, Inc., we have reached agreements to settle the matters. The cost of settlement in each case, which is included in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2013, was not material to our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Facebook adds that they expect no adverse effect from the settlements:
Although the results of these other lawsuits, claims, government investigations, and proceedings in which we are involved cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not believe that the final outcome of these other matters will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
That’s all we have right now. I’ve reached out to Facebook for additional info and will update this article accordingly.
[Form 10-Q via Inside Facebook]