Zuckerberg Hits Another Big Snag With ‘Meta’ Name: Someone’s Already Using It
Facebook’s effort to rebrand itself corporately as Meta could be encroaching on the turf of an Arizona company using that name. A report in The Hill says that among the companies that use “Meta” as part of their names…
Facebook’s effort to rebrand itself corporately as Meta could be encroaching on the turf of an Arizona company using that name.
A report in The Hill says that among the companies that use “Meta” as part of their names, there is one tech company called Meta PCs. In fact, Meta PCs has a presence on Facebook.
“If you want a high performance custom PC with supreme build quality and award-winning support, look no further than Meta PCs to provide you with the best solution,” the company’s Facebook page says.
Not only does the company sell computers, laptops, tablets and software, it has filed to make “Meta” a trademark in relation to all things technology, according to TMZ.
The company might, however, be willing to cut a deal with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for $20 million, TMZ reported.
“We’ve bootstrapped this company with our own personal funds. When we learned Facebook chose the same name, it was obviously a concern that we would lose whatever organic reach we had worked hard to build,” Meta PCs co-founder Zack Shutt said, according to the Guardian.
Shutt also released a parody video on Twitter that included him saying, “To reflect who we are and what we hope to build, I’m proud to announce that we are now Facebook.”
Trademark attorney Clarissa Harvey told Forbes that the application from Meta PC “is still pending review but it appears they are claiming Nov. 01, 2020.”
“Meta PC’s description of goods includes ‘Computers, laptops and portable computers, tablets, computer peripherals, servers, networking equipment, software, computer components, namely, ram, disk drives, namely, hard and optical disk drives, and all related accessories, namely, keyboards, mice, wireless keyboards and mice, speakers, external hard drive backup devices, wireless air cards, wireless routers, monitors, chairs,” she said.
Meta PC says it has experienced a 5,000 percent increase in social media followers, according to Forbes. The time period for that increase wasn’t clear.
“Should Facebook have done a better job and performed more research/due diligence before announcing a rebrand? In a word, yes,” technology industry analyst Charles King of Pund-IT told Forbes.
“The fact that another company apparently owns the ‘Meta’ name/brand makes Facebook’s Meta rollout and Mark Zuckerberg’s awkward demo seem like something the company pulled out of thin air or a handy orifice.”
King said the meta-collision makes Facebook look bad.
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“Instead, Facebook is pursuing a course that is likely to leave many wondering if Zuckerberg and his company have the faintest idea of how to plan and implement a long-term strategy or diffuse a major crisis,” King said.
Jokesters have poked fun at Zuckerberg, who is Jewish, because “meta” is similar to the Hebrew word for “dead,” according to the Times of Israel.
In Portuguese and Spanish, the word is not so troubling because it means “goal.” In Brazil, however, the word has a sexual connotation, according to Bloomberg.
Zuckerberg’s announcement was a boon for Nova Scotia-based Meta Materials.
The company’s stock rose 26 percent in after-hours trading on Oct. 28, the day Zuckerberg made his announcement, according to Reuters.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.