Meta Is Being Sued by Meta for Identity Theft

pcmag.com:

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is being sued by another company called Meta(Opens in a new window) for seizing its mark, name, and identity.

Facebook decided to rename itself Meta last year to reflect the company's new priority of building a virtual reality world (a metaverse). However, in changing names, Facebook caused a major headache for a small business focused on creating multi-sensory live experiences, which has been using the name Meta for over a decade.

"Meta has spent 12 years supporting, developing, and protecting the creator community, creators' rights, and ironically, creators' intellectual property. Facebook's actions, illegally usurping our name and mark, have not only put our business in jeopardy, but that of the entire industry and the intellectual property rights of the innovators that have helped build it," said Justin Bolognino(Opens in a new window), Meta's Founder and CEO. "Since Facebook's name change in late 2021, Meta has made good faith efforts to resolve this situation, but for eight months Facebook has refused to accept responsibility for its unlawful actions, leaving us no choice but to proceed with litigation."

The lawsuit, filed by Pryor Cashman LLP, accuses Meta (Facebook) of unlawfully seizing the Meta mark and name, which amounts to "willfully violating META's trademark rights and engaging in egregious acts of unfair competition." Understandably, Meta believes that the products and services it offers will be seen as products offered by the company formerly known as Facebook, and that, "The Meta mark is now infected by the toxicity that is inextricably linked with Facebook."

Meta may be a small business, but it counts Spotify, Twitter, HP, Microsoft, and Google as former clients.