When Facebook changed its name to Meta last October, there were concerns that this social media giant was planning to dominate the nascent metaverse field. However, one company has been affected by this naming issue, and now the matter is officially heading to court.
An installation art company named Meta (hereafter referred to by its website name, Meta.is) announced on Tuesday, July 19, that it would sue Meta (hereafter referred to as Facebook) for trademark infringement. They also allege that CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s name change has violated the established trademark of the smaller company.
“On October 28, 2021, Facebook took hold of our trademark and the name META, which we have poured our blood, sweat, and tears into building for over 12 years”, a post on the smaller company’s website shared. “Today, after 8 months of trying to negotiate with Facebook in good faith but to no avail, we have no choice but to sue them.”
According to Meta.is, due to various privacy scandals involving Facebook, the company believes that both cannot share the same name. “We can no longer provide goods and services under the META brand”, the complaint states, “because consumers might confuse the goods and services of Meta as originating from Facebook and believe that Meta is associated with Facebook.”
Although this smaller company holds a valid trademark for its name, they may still face a tough battle in court, due to the various applications with different brands that Facebook has undertaken since officially changing its name. These include separate trademarks for messaging services, social networking, and finance. Additionally, there are several trademarks that also claim to use the name Meta for non-tech products, including soft drinks and even a prosthetics manufacturer.
Facebook (Meta) has not immediately responded to requests for comment.
Refer to TheVerge