Facebook Runs Into Trademark Issue With Logo for Digital Currency Brand

Brands are always looking to outdo their competitors, but what happens when seeking an edge leaves a company dangling from a cliff? It appears Facebook will soon have an answer to that inquiry, as its planned Calibra cryptocurrency is not only undergoing severe scrutiny but also facing accusations that the concept’s logo is a rip-off of that of an online banking services provider.

Facebook long ago parted with the notion of having a squeaky clean identity, and, as time has reminded us constantly, especially in the sports world, when a champion is on the ropes, many people are going to line up to become the new top dog. In this case, we would say that Current is not necessarily striving to topple Facebook—it's simply readying itself to fight against what it perceives as a violation of its protected trademark.

this is what happens when you only have 1 crayon left pic.twitter.com/2JY5JfesQD

— Current (@current) June 19, 2019

The Calibra identifier in question dates back to June, putting it three years behind Current, a component of Finco Services of Delaware, in terms of use. Facebook has achieved tremendous clout in many realms in its 15-year history, but the defendant in yet another legal matter, Finco contends, should not escape punishment for the supposed mimicry that the social media heavyweight is allegedly guilty of in using a circled tilde as its proposed cryptocurrency’s logo. The commercial world often finds businesses bickering over claims that someone has swiped their artistic signifiers, and many grievances have validity. Many will include Finco’s gripe with Facebook in that collection, particularly because it seems the same design firm is responsible for both logos.

Along with Facebook, then, said designer, Character, finds itself named in Finco’s lawsuit, with the plaintiff filing a 30-page complaint with the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York on October 10. The legal document explains that “efforts have not been fruitful” in establishing “a mutually acceptable resolution,” and it’s that lack of accord that is setting the stage for what could come to be even more bad news for Facebook, which has already found that it cannot bank on the support of once coveted backers for its Calibra brainchild’s success.