META, a small business operating in the immersive and experiential technology industry since 2010, has filed a lawsuit against Facebook for trademark violation. The company alleged that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's decision to rename his company as META violated its established brand.

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META on its company's website read, 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.

"We were as surprised as you were. Amid the challenges of the pandemic and its impact on the experiential space, we were putting the finishing touches on our new initiative, UNREALITY. Then, one of the most powerful companies in the world took our identity without notice," it said.

"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. The lawsuit alleges that Facebook infringed META’s federally registered trademarks and common law trademark rights, and engaged in egregious acts of unfair competition," it added further.

"This case is about ensuring the collective protection of rights to our work, innovation, and intellectual property, which we have devoted our lives to building—as we evolve towards a more equitable digital and social future," META said in a blogpost.

Zuckerberg had last year said that Facebook is changing its name to Meta to reflect its growing focus on the metaverse. "From now on, we're going to be the metaverse first, not Facebook first,” Zuckerberg had said at the company's annual Connect conference last October.