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Facebook, one of the leading social media platforms that is operating globally, has recently rebranded itself to “Meta”. Following the steps taken by the firm, several metaverse projects in the crypto ecosystem began to soar incredibly. But many privacy lovers were still concerned. However, following the firm’s latest move it seems that it is truly serious about the metaverse. Indeed, the social media giant has paid $60 million to a South Dakota Bank for the name “Meta”. Indeed, such steps indeed shows how assertive it will be in its attempt to stake a claim in the virtual realm.
Facebook has bigger ambitions with metaverse
If someone wants to calculate how ambitious Facebook is with metaverse, they can simply note that the social media platform has paid $60 million just to acquire the trademark rights associated with its latest rebranded name. According to data from Reuters, the social media firm used a shell company known as Beige Key LLC to obtain the trademark rights. However, $60 million is undoubtedly a massive sum in the world of trademarks.
Owning a trademark gives an owner extra leverage when it comes to stopping competitors from using specific phrases, logos, or words. However, such rights do not prohibit other firms from using those so several firms with the same name could co-exist.
Meta is not only a name
It is notable that in a typical trademark deal, a purchaser pays to acquire not only a name but the goodwill that customers associate with a certain good or service. However, observing the case of Meta, we can see its goodwill coming from its regional banks in South Dakota and Iowa and online payments options that the bank says promote financial inclusion.
However, Meta Financial’s has nothing to do with Facebook’s traditional social media businesses or the metaverse where the social media giant aims to plant its flag. Notably, the scenario suggests that the $60 million deal could serve as a power play by the firm to chase others away from using the terms.
Trademark for legal pressure
Facebook has now the potential to heighten the already-growing tension over who gets to own the metaverse. However, that is only possible if the firm uses its trademark to bring legal pressure on other firms. Indeed, as Mark Zuckerberg put the term at the core of his firm, the entire crypto community shot back that the metaverse is meant to be a decentralized and permissionless ecosystem.
