After nearly nine months of good faith negotiation with Facebook to no avail, the original META has filed a lawsuit against the corporate goliath for infringing upon their federally registered trademark and common law trademark rights. The complaint was filed by Pryor Cashman LLP at the request of META founder and pioneer of experiential and immersive technologies Justin “JB” Bolognino – who created META in 2010.
“It’s just such an egregious case, one of the biggest companies in the world destroying one of the smallest companies. It’s ironic we’ve been fighting for IP rights, and then their first big move into this industry is to steal our IP from us,” Bolognino said to Relix. “This has to have reverberations throughout the industry and in the community because of your rights and your creativity. Imagine if you had a company that Google changed their name to. This case is about the community and industry at large.”
Since its inception 12 years ago, META has functioned as a space for innovators to shape creator-driven immersive experiences with a focus on highlighting the individuals behind those experiences. As technology developed, META’s name grew in meaning and relevance as it produced acclaimed campaigns with creators, producers, and technologists across every reality possible – including interactive entertainment, social virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. They also arranged and conducted special events and immersive solutions for commercial, promotional, advertising, creator-community building purposes and conducted revolutionary immersive experiences at some of the world’s most significant events, like SXSW, Coachella and Cannes Lions.
By the time Facebook seized its name, on Oct. 28, 2021, META had a developed respected public image, a recognized brand name and industry goodwill. Facebook is now doing exactly what META has done for more than a decade — including conducting exploring immersive experiences at the same events and venues and working with the same creators and same companies. “After eight months of literally being completely silenced about this, we finally get to tell our story a little bit,” added Bolognino.
In the statement shared by META, they explained that when their name was ripped from them, without notice, their reputation was also “decimated by one of the biggest and most controversial companies in the world,” and it had destroyed their ability to do business in the industry they helped create. Though a definitive solution to this unprecedented case of reverse confusion and blatant infringement is unclear, Bolognino hopes to reclaim the right, title, and interest of the company he has so diligently and laboriously created.
Read the full complaint here.
See META’s immersive VR Dome at Coachella 2018 below.