Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
"Paper by FiftyThree" is trademarked in the United States and in several additional countries, which could lead to a legal standoff between FiftyThree and Facebook in the future.

They trademarked "Paper by FiftyThree" not "Paper", likely because such a trademark would never have been issued. It's a general term and descriptive. You can't just make virtual paper and monopolize the term paper.

If a bigger companied had done that and threatened legal action, everybody would be screaming: "evil".

The lesson is: If you want to be unique, pick a goddamn unique name. Don't pick the 600th most common word in the English language[1], and complain if someone else has the same idea.

[1]: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Frequency_lists/PG/2006/04/1-10000
 
I don't understand how this is possible. When you create an app in iTunes Connect (which you must if you want it on the store), it does a name check and will not let you name it the same as an existing app. So how are they doing this? Chinese and Russian knockoff apps do things like inserting "invisible" spaces in the name, using alternate characters (like a lowercase ell to mimic an uppercase "I"), etc., but I can't imagine FaceBook is doing that type of thing.
 
Wow. This app is nice. Goodbyte Zite and Feedly. Or maybe not. Does this have Pocket/Instapaper integration?
 
Typical dick move from Zuck & Co. They should have known better and it's obvious there's an app out there that exists by this name already.

I hope this project will fail harder than the Facebook phone. I just don't see how anyone would replace the regular Facebook app with this.

Also, get rid of other useless apps like Facebook messenger, as the features are kind of already in the app.

Other failed Facebook projects:
-Chatheads
-Facebook Camera
-HTC Status
-HTC first
-Integrated Google (what happened to this idea)
-Polls
-Facebook Hashtags


Need I say more?

A lot of people I know love messenger, it takes a single function and focuses on it, the same way instagram is focused only on a single photo at a time, Messenger photos on the act of communicating via messages to those you're connected with on facebook. I love the app.

Hashtags have far from failed. People have been begging for this feature for years now and I see most of my friends online using them.

Did you actually use the paper app? The gesture based controls are super slick. Interface is simple, flat, but easy to use in a way that I wish iOS 7 could learn from.

Sure, Facebook fails at a lot of their experiements but at least they're trying and improving. Messages is like the rebirth of chatheads, they finally figured out how to do Messaging right after failing. Paper is sort of like the rebirth of the news feed, with much more control and focus on content and sharing. Now I can use Messages to get in touch with people or groups one on one, I can use Paper to consume all the great links my friends are sharing, and I can go to the facebook app when I need my mindless status browsing/baby/puppy pics.

I don't know about you but I like my life organized, and as Facebook consumes a lot of my online life (social updates, news, media, one on one communication), it's really nice to have these things separated, focused and done right instead of clamored together in one app.
 
Wow. This app is nice. Goodbyte Zite and Feedly. Or maybe not. Does this have Pocket/Instapaper integration?

Yes it does. Go to Settings.

Anyone else not getting Push Notifications? I set it to show and appear in Paper but it doesn't seem to be working.
 
So then how does Zynga have a case with the word "candy"?

----------



Well, using that logic, the Beatles didn't have a case against Apple Computer, because in the Beatle's case, it was a record label. Which can't be confused with a computer maker.

Not quite true. They specifically made an agreement not to enter into the music business. Many examples but that is definitely not one.

----------

Typical dick move from Zuck & Co. They should have known better and it's obvious there's an app out there that exists by this name already.

I hope this project will fail harder than the Facebook phone. I just don't see how anyone would replace the regular Facebook app with this.

Also, get rid of other useless apps like Facebook messenger, as the features are kind of already in the app.

Other failed Facebook projects:
-Chatheads
-Facebook Camera
-HTC Status
-HTC first
-Integrated Google (what happened to this idea)
-Polls
-Facebook Hashtags


Need I say more?

I use Facebook camera and Facebook Messenger a lot. I've removed the main app from my phone since it's just a time suck and only use FB when I'm at my computer for a bit. Messenger let's folk still message me if they don't have my number, which happens a lot and Camera lets me upload photos without all the other garb that Facebook offers.
 
Not quite true. They specifically made an agreement not to enter into the music business. Many examples but that is definitely not one.

----------



I use Facebook camera and Facebook Messenger a lot. I've removed the main app from my phone since it's just a time suck and only use FB when I'm at my computer for a bit. Messenger let's folk still message me if they don't have my number, which happens a lot and Camera lets me upload photos without all the other garb that Facebook offers.

The problem is that FB has too much going on. That's why they have so many apps they try to break out everything.

However, I do find, when I share articles on FB, no one gives a hoot. So I question the point of having a news reader app. Everyone's too busy posting pointless meme pics that aren't funny (to me at least). No one is posting their own original content as much as they used to.
 
They knocked it out of the park with this. Consolidates all the valuables from the normal Facebook app, with Messenger, and adds a social news reading experienced. From a design and user experience standpoint, this is hands down one of the best apps I've ever used. Content first, judicious use of iOS 7 kit, super fun and intuitive, completely gesture-driven. This has replaced Facebook and Flipboard for me.
 
Hmmm, they totally discounted the use of Events on this app. It's no where to be found. That's pretty much why I stick with Facebook. Hope they add some function soon. Guess I'll keep the original app until they do.
 
Hmmm, they totally discounted the use of Events on this app. It's no where to be found. That's pretty much why I stick with Facebook. Hope they add some function soon. Guess I'll keep the original app until they do.
Yea, I noticed this as well.. feel like they'll prob add it in a future update. You can still view events in notifications though.
 
Hmmm, they totally discounted the use of Events on this app. It's no where to be found. That's pretty much why I stick with Facebook. Hope they add some function soon. Guess I'll keep the original app until they do.

Events won't be a part of Paper. The app is meant to consolidate stories (both facebook stories and articles from sources around the web) and nothing more. You get notifications, messages and friend requests (like in all facebook apps) and that's it.

For events you have to stick to the standard Facebook app, unless they release an events app later on.
 
Downloaded it. Not bad at all. Some things need work (like sorting most recent instead of the default layout), but overall a nice start.
 
Events won't be a part of Paper. The app is meant to consolidate stories (both facebook stories and articles from sources around the web) and nothing more. You get notifications, messages and friend requests (like in all facebook apps) and that's it.

For events you have to stick to the standard Facebook app, unless they release an events app later on.

If this is the case, then this app is useless.
 
For those outside the US wanting to give it a spin... go to AppStore, and view your Apple ID from the bottom of the feature page.

Change your store to the US store, and enter a payment type of 'none'.

Since it is a free app, iTunes is fine with you downloading the software.
 
Typical dick move from Zuck & Co. They should have known better and it's obvious there's an app out there that exists by this name already.

But what exactly is the trademark. Is it just Paper or is it Paper by FiftyThree. If it is just Paper it is for Paper used in mobile apps, iOS app, drawing apps. The first two are on the same game as being able to trademark Candy or Saga while the last is so specific that it leaves an opening for Facebook to do exactly what they did. There's isn't a drawing or even writing app. Anyone looking for a drawing app can clearly see this isn't it. So where is the confusion, Facebook will say. They are both free so even if someone is that dumb, Facebook didn't take any money from them, Facebook will say. and so on.

----------

I hope this app is really better than the standard Facebook app, which just sucks...

I didn't find it to be. If anyone I found it annoying. Might work better on an iPad but on a phone, bleach.

some of the gestures were interesting. A little confusing perhaps but one can adapt. The thing I found particularly annoying was that the section names stay up on the screen so photos etc have "Facebook" or "Sports" covering up big areas. And we have no control over the sources and limits on how many sections we can have up at a time. Why not just let us have all of them

----------

Can't even login to it...

Image

likely too many folks trying to hit it right now. Give it a day or two and try again.

----------

It's not owning a word, it's trademarking within a specific context, which is exactly how trademarks work.

Yep, market matters. That's why Apple Computers basically 'won'. As long as they didn't use the name Apple in relation to anything music (making, recording, selling etc), Apple Records couldn't say boo. Thus why it was the iTunes store and not the Apple Music store. Garageband and not Apple Music Maker

Their trademark doesn't stop any other use of the word, including other product categories. You could use the name Paper for a soft drink, a laundry detergent, a car, whatever...as long as it's not an app.

But that raises a major issue. Apps is a huge group. And if you define it as software that brings computers into the fray as well. Facebook could be doing this to strength the same arguments as the whole King thing with candy and saga. Facebook may be trying to raise the point that a drawing/writing app isn't the same as a reading app (where paper is meant as a shortened version of newspaper, a very common vernacular usage). So allowing Fiftythree to control Paper in all apps is overreaching in the same way that letting King control candy and saga is. What next, Facebook might say, FiftyThree goes after some kid that makes an endless runner game called Paper Boy as infringement.

----------

And it doesn't look like they registered "paper" by itself anyhow.

do you have a link to the information about exactly how they registered. I think folks would find it interesting to see the exact name listing and market listed

----------

This is a really beautiful app

I don't know that I would say 'really beautiful'. The section titles and the odd giant photo that dominates 2/3 the screen rather screws that up. Plus the whole carousel in that giant photo is odd.
 
Ok...yer wrong

Don't get me wrong, I can see why FiftyThree would be unhappy about Facebook's name choice but he does not own the word paper.Link :)

I don't think so...even though it is a common word, Paper as the name of an app does belong to FiftyThree. FB could have called it anything...but they chose to call it the exact same name as another app.

And why did Apple approve the name??? One would think that they would watch for this sort of stuff and try to prevent it, or at least help find a solution.
 
I don't think so...even though it is a common word, Paper as the name of an app does belong to FiftyThree. FB could have called it anything...but they chose to call it the exact same name as another app.

And why did Apple approve the name??? One would think that they would watch for this sort of stuff and try to prevent it, or at least help find a solution.

They didn't call it the exact same name as another app. The Facebook app is called "Paper - stories from Facebook", the fiftythree app is called "Paper by FiftyThree". There is actually an app in the store called "Paper" but it's an entirely different thing.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.