Facebook is being sued by a firm called Meta for using the name Meta

One resentful party has been keeping quiet until recently, but there were some worries when Facebook changed its name to Meta in October that the firm was trying to rule the developing metaverse.

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A firm called META (or Meta.is), which creates installation art, declared on Tuesday that it will sue Meta (or Facebook) for trademark infringement, claiming that Zuckerberg's name change violated the established brand of the smaller company.

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“On October 28, 2021, Facebook seized our META mark and name, which we put our blood, sweat, and tears into building for over twelve years,” reads a post on the smaller company’s site. “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.”

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The case largely rests on Facebook's numerous privacy problems, which, according to Meta.is, have rendered sharing the name impossible. The complaint claims that Meta can no longer offer products and services under the META mark because of the likelihood that consumers will wrongly think that Meta's products and services come from Facebook and that Meta is connected to the toxicity that is inextricably tied with Facebook.

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Given the wide range of trademark applications Facebook has made since the name change became official — including different marks for messaging, social networks, and financial services — Meta.is may still have an uphill battle in court despite holding a legitimate claim for the term. Several trademarks for non-tech items, such as a maker of prosthetic limbs and a hard seltzer, also claim the Meta brand.