Meta Company sues Facebook for allegedly 'stealing' its name

Meta Company, a Chicago-based tech firm has filed a lawsuit against Facebook, saying the social networking site stole its name and "livelihood" after it rebranded its name to Meta.

In a statement, Meta Company Founder Nate Skulic said Facebook lawyers have been "hounding" them to sell their name. When Facebook failed to buy them, it aimed to "bury" the company by media force, stated the company.

On October 28, "Facebook decided to commit trademark infringement and call themselves Meta," Skulic said in the company statement.

"They couldn't buy us, so they tried to bury us by force of media. We shouldn't be surprised by these actions - from a company that continually says one thing and does another," it added.

Meta Company has decided to file the necessary legal actions against Facebook. "This message may be regarded as a public cease and desist," Skulic said.

"Facebook and its operating officers are deceitful and acting in bad faith, not only towards us, but to all of humanity," he said.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg last month announced that his company will have a new name, Meta. The name "Facebook" doesn't fully encompass everything the company does now, and is still closely linked to one product. But over time, I hope we are seen as a metaverse company, Zuckerberg had said.

"We refused their offer on multiple bases. Namely, the low offer wouldn't cover the costs of changing our name, and we insisted on knowing the client and intent, which they did not want to disclose. At least two law firms were involved: One in the US that requested its trademark and domains and the other in Europe aggressively contacting trying to get "us to sell its domain registrations,'' Skulic noted.

"It's unfortunate to have been associated with a company so rooted in controversy and fixated on domination. We aim to be distinguished from Facebook's totalitarian view of the future. We hope the negative association with Facebook and its founder will be forgotten -- but we won't ignore the damages done," Skulic elaborated.