Report: Merck KGaA alleges that Merck took over its Facebook page

NEW YORK — Facebook wars happen all the time, but it's not often that drug manufacturers duke it out online.



Bloomberg reported Wednesday that German drug maker Merck KGaA filed suit in New York Monday alleging that its U.S. competitor, Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co., took over its Facebook page, Facebook.com/Merck. The page currently contains content from the U.S. company, but the German Merck said it had agreed with Facebook for exclusive use of the page, Bloomberg reported, adding that the German company had said Facebook was not cooperating with its attempts to seek information about the matter. The news service reported that Merck did not respond to requests for comment.



Merck originally was the U.S. division of the German drug maker, but was forced to split off as one of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. Today, to avoid confusion, Merck KGaA operates under the name EMD in North America, while Merck operates as MSD outside North America.

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