Facebook, Zuckerberg’s owned media and social networking service which later transcended itself into Meta has been accused of trademark infringement.
According to a complaint filed by a Chicago-based IT firm named Meta Company against Facebook, it said the social networking site had stolen the name and “livelihood” of the company after it rebranded itself as Meta.
A lot of diversification came into existence after Facebook changed its brand to Meta, where it moved from being a social media platform alone but also venturing into the Metaverse.
What MetaX LLC is Saying
On Tuesday, the company filed a complaint in a court located in Manhattan. Although the company is officially registered as MetaX LLC, it uses the name “Meta” in its branding. According to the lawsuit, the company was established in 2010, submitted an application for its trademark in 2016, and successfully registered the brand in 2020.
“Meta has been crushed by Facebook’s flagrant, unlawful conduct,” the company said
Meta Copyright Infringement
In October of 2021, Zuckerberg’s technology company underwent a name change to Meta. Concurrent with this change, the company shifted its primary focus to the metaverse. The other company claims that Facebook’s rebranding has had a negative impact on its business, as is stated in the lawsuit.
The founder of MetaX Justin Bolognino stated that they attempted to negotiate with Facebook, but the process did not provide any fruitful outcomes.
“Today, after eight months of trying to negotiate with Facebook in good faith to no avail, we were left with no choice but to file a lawsuit against them,” said the founder in a statement posted on Instagram.
He added “The lawsuit alleges that Facebook infringed META’s federally registered trademarks and common law trademark rights, and engaged in egregious acts of unfair competition,”
Bolognino wants Facebook to be held accountable for its activities, and he emphasizes this in a statement. He wrote to Meta in December 2021 to express his reservations about the rebranding, according to Business Insider.
“We have produced acclaimed campaigns with extraordinary creators, producers, and technologists across every Reality possible, including social VR, AR, XR, immersive music experiences, and IRL,” Bolognino said.
“Facebook talks a big game about supporting creators, but the proof is in their actions. If they’re willing to blatantly seize our IP and use it in the same spaces we have operated in for more than a decade, we can’t imagine what’s coming when they further saturate our industry and dominate the “metaverse”,” Bolognino expressed.
Meta Brand Duplication
In a message posted to Twitter, the founder of MetaX, Justin “JB” Bolognino, said that the company had “blood, sweat, and tears” invested in the building of its brand, but that it had been “seized” by Meta.
According to MetaX, the rebranding attempt has already caused confusion among customers, and one of those customers inquired whether one of the company’s products was “a Facebook thing.”
Furthermore, the suit alleges that the logos of the two organizations are “conceptually identical” since they both employ symmetrical designs that resemble the letter “M.”
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How the Meta Lawsuit Started
According to MetaX, Facebook was aware of its existence several years before the company rebranded itself as Meta. The company alleges that in 2017, Bolognino had an email discussion with senior Facebook executives who had viewed an experience that MetaX had hosted at an event.
“Facebook and Bolognino then engaged in further discussion about Meta’s products and services, leading Facebook to solicit Meta to collaborate with Facebook on future work,” the lawsuit says.
Business Insider reported that the lawsuit mentioned that the two companies proposed working together on a project incorporating augmented reality and artificial intelligence, but it does not elaborate on the nature of the proposed project.
According to the complaint, in December of 2021, Bolognino sent a letter to Meta expressing his concern that the rebranding could be destructive to his company.
An employee of Meta responded to Bolognino in a letter that was included as evidence in the lawsuit. In the letter, the employee stated that the two companies provide “dramatically different goods and services.”
According to the allegations made in the lawsuit, MetaX spent eight months communicating with Facebook in “good faith” and gave the tech company papers relevant to its trademark rights.
Additionally, MetaX wants monetary penalties and an injunction to ban Meta from using the name “Meta” in connection with its company or services. MetaX hasn’t stated how much money they’re seeking for
Observation
The MetaX company says that the connection to Zuckerberg’s company makes customers less likely to work with them. It says that the “toxicity” of the company has spread to them. They explained :
“[We] can no longer provide goods and services under the META mark because consumers are likely to mistakenly believe that Meta’s goods and services emanate from Facebook and that Meta is associated with the toxicity that is inextricably linked with Facebook.”
Who will Own the Name Meta?
The MetaX may have the upper hand when it comes to the right to its trademark. Nevertheless, competing on the same level against Zuckerberg’s company won’t be an easy task. In point of fact, for many more modest companies, it is very close to being impossible.
In light of this, Zuckerberg’s company will most likely continue to operate under the Meta brand.
