A beauty spa in Albany, New York, US, has begun legal proceedings against social networking site Facebook and another spa following a row over naming rights and the use of Facebook as a marketing tool.

The row started when California-based Complexions Day Spa and Wellness Center allegedly sent a takedown notice to Facebook in January 2011, claiming that the Facebook page of Complexions Spa for Beauty & Wellness in Albany, New York violated its trademark rights.

Facebook decided to comply with the request and took down the Albany-based Complexions' site.

However, the spa retaliated by filing a suit in a New York federal court, stating that it had used the name Complexions continuously since 1987 and registered the www.complexions.com web domain as early as 1997.

In the court papers, seen by Spa Opportunities the spa also accuses its California-based namesake of "deceptive business practices". It claims that the California company had sent out "Facebook friend requests" to its 1,000-or so 'fans' just a day before its Facebook account was taken off line.

In its submission to the federal court, Complexions states; "Defendants actions were deliberately calculated to deceive, mislead and confuse Plaintiff's customers into falsely concluding that Defendant's business is affiliated or related to Plaintiff's business."

The case continues. For the full court report, click here.