Merck KGaA said it had entered into an agreement with Facebook for the exclusive rights to www.facebook.com/merck in March 2010.
Comment: With regard to US trademark law, the US Trademark Office doesn't really get into disputes between rival divisions of company, separate but related companies, and even past split offs and spin offs which apparently this was.
As a result, these issues will need to be litigated in either a US court having jurisdiction, or in one of the international courts regarding the internet--a very costly move.
Just who owns the pages on Facebook and how are they litigated will be a very interesting questions for busiensses.
If you don't have a contractual agreement with all your related companies, past and present, you will not be able to sue for beach of contract, therefore: "Merck is considering causes of action for breach of conduct, tortious interference with contract, tortious interference with prospective business advantage, and/or conversion."
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