In an attempt to align with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s growing focus on the “metaverse,” the social media behemoth Facebook rebranded itself as Meta last year. However, despite this shift, the platform is still widely known by its former name. This has caused strife for a specific company that is now pushing for a complete reversal of this decision.
Recently, an art installation company known as Meta (distinguished by Meta.is) declared its intentions to take legal action against Meta for adopting their name, thus infringing upon the trademark protected by their brand.
“On October 28, 2021, Facebook took over our META trademark and name, which we tirelessly built over a span of twelve years,” Meta.is expressed on their official website. “After attempting negotiations with Facebook for eight months in good faith but with no success, we had no option but to sue them.”
A company named Meta is suing Meta for appropriating their name https://t.co/vA77mWNKgi pic.twitter.com/M1ESXtDEF4
— The Verge (@verge) July 19, 2022
As per the complaint from Meta.is, the usage of Meta’s branding by Meta has significantly hindered their ability to attract clients, given that the numerous Facebook controversies have led the public to be wary of the name. The complaint argues, “Meta is no longer able to offer products and services under the META name,” owing to the likelihood that consumers might mistakenly assume Meta’s offerings originate from Facebook and are linked to the negative reputation associated with the platform.
At present, Meta has yet to provide a response regarding this issue.
