Trademark Applicant for “META” Willing to Sell to Facebook for $20 Million

The social media giant Facebook recently announced a name change to “META,” as it shifts its focus to the “metaverse.” This rebranding effort is purportedly aimed towards expanding its business activities towards virtual and augmented reality technologies, among other things. However, one potential roadblock for Facebook and its filing of a trademark application for META, is a company called META PC, LLC, which submitted an August 23, 2021 trademark application for the word mark “META” in connection with computers, laptops, portable computers, tablets, and computer peripherals – all goods and services that are arguably in the realm of Facebook. Although META PC, LLC’s application has not yet matured into a registration for the “META” mark, founders Joe Darger and Zach Shutt are allegedly offering to abandon their quest and rebrand their entire company, in exchange for $20 Million. Leaving aside the money, META PC, LLC is purportedly reaping the rewards of the publicity, having seen an uptick in follows by approximately 5,000 %.