There has been speculation in recent days as to whether the instability of the social networks Instagram and Facebook is a result of the court decision handed down by the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJSP), which ordered Meta Platforms, INC., which owns the platforms, to refrain from using the 'META' trademark, which was first registered in Brazil by Meta Serviços em Informática S/A, the plaintiff in the case. It so happens that the instability of the two platforms occurred in the same week that it was announced that the company would be forced to stop using the expression 'META' as a trademark.

The announcement of the company's corporate name change came in 2021, alluding to the metaverse - virtual reality technology.

Initially, it is important to clarify that the decision that determined "the cessation of any and all use of the name or trademark 'META'", must be complied with within 30 calendar days from the date of the judgment of the interlocutory appeal by the TJSP, which occurred on 02/28/2024. Therefore, as the deadline has not passed, the instability of the platforms has nothing to do with the court order.

Also, with regard to the lawsuit that aims to prevent the use of the 'META' trademark, there is disagreement as to which court would be competent to decide the issue, since at the beginning of the state process, the 'META' trademark owned by Facebook was granted by the INPI, and the Brazilian company, holder of the first registration, filed a request for the registration to be nullified in the Federal Court.

Furthermore, Facebook has acquired two registrations of word marks composed of the expression 'META', in the same class as the one sought - 42 - and with registrations prior to the Brazilian mark and with this, the main allegation of prior registration by the plaintiff apparently falls apart.

In other words, this is a very complex issue that will not be resolved with just one decision, not least because there is still room for appeal against the decision handed down by the TJSP, which does not prevent the parties from reaching an agreement on the matter at any time.

Instrument Appeal Case: 2208229-28.2023.8.26.0000

Intellectual Property | CPDMA Team