Finco Services of Delaware has initiated a lawsuit against Facebook in a New York court, on October 10, over the swirly tilde logo Facebook uses for its Libra token. The plaintiff is also suing its former designer, who did the logo work for Facebook, for reusing the design.
However, Finco Services alleges trademark infringement, unfair competition, and “false designation of origin” against Facebook over its use of the swirly tilde logo.
The company provides online banking services through a mobile application, doing business under the name ‘Current’. In 2016, it had paid a company called Character SF to design a logo for the brand, which was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The registration covered a number of business activities, specifically including “in connection with a mobile computer software application used for enabling cryptocurrency-based transactions.”
<img src="https://www.cryptonewspoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Libra-Lockup-1920x1080-Transparent-1-e1560878181462-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3003 lazyload" width="418" height="235" />
A recycled design
The problem arose when Facebook also went to Character SF, looking for the branding for Libra, its proposed cryptocurrency.
However, the resulting designs feature numerous tilde shapes, but the Calibra logo produced is virtually identical to the logo used by Finco for its Current app and debit cards.
Thus, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook will testify before Congress on October 23, regarding his companies’ intentions for the Libra currency.
Source: scribd.com