Facebook is not the first to ask for protection for a common phrase/word.

Indeed. In fact, some company has attempted to trademark “Pod”, “Pad” and anything that starts with a lower case “i”.

Blockbuster sued a company I worked for after it marketed a movie as being a “blockbuster.” Cease and Desist. We decided not to fight it.

They’ll soon be gone and we’ll be free to use that word again.