An installation-art company called META (or Meta.is) is suing Meta (or meta.com)

Here as well. I loaded the site again and it works fine on a second try.

I use Firefox and it automatically downloaded a .zip file and shown a page with instructions to update Firefox for 'better user experience'.

It's downloading a zipped JScript file, still trying to figure out what it does. It looks like they took an unmodified copy of a normal JS library and wrapped it in an try/catch block so when it errors from not being in the right environment the "error reporter" kicks in and evals some JS is downloads from 582e.call.pgee.org (which appears to be non-functional)

I just dropped a message to the CEO via LinkedIn, hope they can check on it. Didn't pop-up for me, either adblock or just being enabled for a sample of the visitors.

Same thing just happened to me, hope no one falls for it.

Is anybody able to indicate what the obfuscated JS is exactly on the bottom of each page? Or how to reproduce the error?

Works fine for me on 20/07

Ahh… sorry for pirating Kai’s Power Tools and Ray Dream Studio when I was like 14!

There's a fun blast from the past! InfiniD was my first serious 3D graphics software package when I did that for a while way back when on the Mac. I'm trying to remember how I even discovered that one, I vaguely recall Ambrosia Software used it for creating the sprites in Escape Velocity? I think one of my first personal learning projects was using it to make my own ships and plug-ins for EV (all done by hand with ResEdit) which felt pretty neat at the time. Thanks for your part in what MetaCreations did back then, what a wild time that was.

I worked in a lab four years ago, where Kai (the designer of MetaTools) was an investor, but it didn't work out as although the tech was impressive and cool, it lacked the other components that are needed for a startup. They are still operating and building stuff in Edinburgh [0]. Sadly, they didn't release anything yet.

[0] https://www.kpv-lab.co.uk/

Kai's Power Tools has the best resizing algorithm i have ever seen.

Their argument hinges on the fact that both companies operate in the VR space, and I agree with Meta.is here.

Trademark law is pretty clear about protecting a brand name within a given market. "Apple" and "Meta" are just words, yes, but if a second computer company named "Apple" were to appear, this would pretty clearly infringe on the Apple trademark, as opposed to say Apple T-Shirt Company.

Since it is such a common and useful word, I hope Facebook looses this case, as I would find it sad if that word is associated with their company by most people for the foreseeable future.

Broadly, though - trademark law specifically makes note of how "evocative" the particular word is. Which is to say, "Apple" for computers is more permissible than "Apple" for e.g. a food company.

Not sure where I'd put "Meta" here though, it's so generic for anything.

There was a spat between Domino's Pizza and Domino Sugar. For a while, Domino's Pizza had to use their full name, not just "Domino's", in advertising and even when they answered the phone. That seems to have changed, so maybe some new agreement was reached.

Well then good luck trying to start a new company called Apple or Meta.

Apple Computer still paid $80,000 to Apple Corps [1] even though it was 2 decades before they entered the music space. I don't think apple is a good example for your point.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer#1...

I just realized now if I put meta-programming on my resume the HR drones are going to think I worked for Zuckerberg.

This usage in modern words traces its way back to an analogy to metaphysics transcending physics. In Greek, meta meant with or after and the book metaphysics was named because it came after physics. The Greek word has related etymology to the Old English mið (or mid) which was subsumed into the meaning of with (an original usage of the word with can be found in the word withstanding).

One may notice words that come from the original Greek meaning if they start with meth or met + some vowel except a (although words with this original sense) and modern words (eg in zoology) also exist based on the old Greek meaning, as well as other irregular constructions (in geology words beginning with meta relate to metamorphosis).

Notwithstanding the broken origins of the sense you describe, it is indeed a good word/prefix.

The word Alphabet didn't go away when Google renamed their parent company, and I'm confident that the word meta will also prove stronger than its SV appropriation.

  I hereby offer
  Without any rhyme nor reason
  This short meta verse.

“Please delete all my meta data” will become ambiguous. ;)

Weird how name/brand recognition works. Facebook the company rebranding had zero impact/change on me. I think of their properties first and the name of the parent company never. It doesn't really matter.

don't forget about Meta-Metadata: https://ecologylab.net/research/publications/metaMetadataCIK...

It's perfect name for Facebook because now when we hear stories of "FBI Data collection was just the Meta Data" it will mean everything about you, your friends, your call voice data, pictures of your genitals and everything else!

I cry a little bit every time people use "meta" or "metagame" as a synonym for "strategy"

It would be awesome, though [sadly] such events in a high-profile context are exceedingly rare in capitalism.

Maybe FB could pivot to MetastasiXed, would be a more suitable name for the stage FB and Zuck have reached.

Trademarks are about protecting a mark used in commerce, not the first person to utter a word or phrase.

1992 by the way. Seemed way to new when i read it in 90s to be 1982. Your point probably still stands.

When I was trying to name my own business, it was amazing to see how many names were already taken just in my state.

It's slightly more complicated than that.

It has to be a name that hasn't already been registered to cover one of the pre-existing business categories for your state.

And, it also has to be a name that isn't registered nationally to cover one of the federal pre-existing business categories.

It's possible, and very common, to register a trademark within a single state only. I've done it about a half-dozen times in two state. You do it if you have a product or service that you never expect to go national.

It's how you can have multiple unrelated "#1 Quick Mart" and "Danny's Cleaners" in different parts of the nation.

However, in this case, the complainant is in Iceland, so the American rules you and I know don't apply.

> Not that it makes it right for Meta/Facebook to do whatever they want but any rebranding they chose would probably have stepped on someone's toes.

Exactly why I hope Facebook looses this case. Every other startup is being forced to come up with weird unique names, Facebook shouldn't get a pass just because they're big.