When Facebook changed its name to Meta in October, there were some who worried that the business was intending to dominate the emerging metaverse — but one disgruntled party is only now coming forward.
META (or Meta.is), an installation-art company, said on Tuesday that it will sue Meta (or Facebook) for trademark infringement, claiming that Zuckerberg’s name change violated the smaller company’s established brand.
Much of the lawsuit is predicated on Facebook’s numerous privacy problems, which Meta.is claims make it difficult to disclose the name. The complaint claims that “Meta can no longer provide products and services under the META mark” because “consumers are likely to incorrectly infer that Meta’s goods and services derive from Facebook and that Meta is associated with the toxicity that is inextricably tied with Facebook.”
Meta.is has a legitimate trademark for the name, but it may have an uphill battle in court given Facebook’s wide range of trademark filings after the name change became official – including separate marks for messaging, social networks, and financial services. There are also a variety of trademarks claiming the Meta name for non-tech items, such as a hard seltzer and a prosthetic limb producer.
