Facebook’s rebrand to Meta may have hit a stumbling block. As discovered by TMZ, it turns out that the founders of a custom gaming PC company called Meta had already filed for the name back in August. The trademark has not been granted to founders Joe Darger and Zack Shutt yet, but they seem committed to fighting for their name unless Facebook pays them off in the amount of $20 million.
From TMZ:
The cost might seem crazy, but the way Darger and Shutt see it, giving up the TM will require them to rebrand their entire company … which, of course, will be super expensive.
Trademark or not, Meta PC has already reaped some of Facebook’s announcement benefits — they’ve seen a 5,000% increase in followers across their social media channels … not too bad.
Sources tell TMZ that Meta (Facebook) already has the rights necessary to adopt the name, which isn’t surprising based on the legal might behind the company. Meta PC has been operating for a little over a year and is approaching the situation with a sense of humor.
— META PCs (@METAPCs) October 28, 2021
an announcement regarding our new name from our founder @zackshutt pic.twitter.com/I7tofqPa6Z
— META PCs (@METAPCs) October 28, 2021
Source: TMZ