A UK-based software company called Threads Software Limited is threatening legal action against Meta for its use of the . The company, which says it has owned the “Threads” brand since 2012, creates a “smart message center” that uses artificial intelligence to help businesses keep track of phone calls, emails and other messages.
Threads Software Limited claims that Meta’s lawyers made four separate attempts, starting in April 2023, to purchase the threads.app domain from the software company and ultimately closed its Facebook account. “All offers were rejected,” the company said in. “It was made clear on Meta’s Instagram that the domain was not for sale. In July 2023, Meta’s Instagram announced its ‘threads’ social media platform and removed Threads Software Limited from its Facebook platform.”
The software company said it will give Meta 30 days to “stop using the Threads name” and will “seek an injunction from the UK courts” if the social media company refuses to do so. In a statement, Threads Software CEO John Yardley said it was “not an easy decision” to take on Meta, but that “the business now faces a serious threat from one of the world’s largest technology companies.” .
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s unclear how much money Meta may have offered for threads.app, but Yardley’s statements offer a rare look at the type of secret negotiations that can occur to secure a sought-after domain or username.
It’s also worth noting that the software maker wasn’t the only company using the Threads name at the time Meta launched its Twitter competitor. Fashion retailer controlled the @Threads handle on Instagram at the time of the service’s launch. The company jokingly responded to commenters at the time, posting on the new Threads service about people mixing the clothing brand with the Meta-owned service. used meta @threadsapp on Instagram and threadsapp.net on Threads, at the time of the service’s launch.
A month later, the retailer’s Instagram account to @americanthreads (and americanthreads.net in Threads) without explanation, while Meta took control of the @Threads handle. Representatives for the clothing brand did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the circumstances are strikingly similar to how Meta quietly handled @Meta on Instagram more than a year ago. That username was also controlled by a separate entity, an independent motorcycle publication called META, but the account was later absorbed by the social network without explanation.
Representatives for Meta magazine never commented directly on how their account changed hands, but wrote about their dismay upon learning of Facebook’s name change. “With the flip of a switch, our identity was suddenly diluted and we watched our name circulate down the drain and wash with something we had no control over,” the magazine’s co-founder wrote in a blog post that has since been published. deleted. The magazine now uses the name. .
For now, it seems that Threads Software Limited is hoping for a different outcome. “Over the last 10 years, we have made a large investment in the Threads name and we did not want to have to cancel this investment simply because Meta liked the name we had already coined for a messaging service,” he said. wrote in a . “If we change the name of the service simply to avoid confusion with Meta’s product, the service could regress enough to lose that technological lead.”
If Meta or another social media company has offered you money in exchange for your domain name or handle, please contact me at karissa.bell (at) engadget.com or Signal at +1.628.231.0063.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-software-company-Called-threads-says-meta-tried-to-buy-its-domain-and-kicked-it-off-facebook -221928864.html?src=rss
