Facebook’s Newly Renamed Diem Cryptocurrency Threatened With A Lawsuit Over Branding

The giant social media continues to stir controversy even when it’s trying desperately to avoid it. Just a week after Facebook renamed Libra to Diem (meaning “day” in Latin), the company could be facing a lawsuit from a London-based fintech app with the same name.

• CryptoPotato reported last week that Facebook changed the name of its future cryptocurrency in another attempt to escape from all the regulatory hurdles in its way. 
• However, it seems that the Association behind the project has chosen the wrong name (again). According to a recent report, a financial application with the same name Diem has threatened to sue Facebook and its partners for copying. 
• Founder and CEO of the finance app, Geri Cupi, said in a statement that they were “flabbergasted” when news broke out that Facebook’s Libra Association had chosen the Diem name. “As a small startup, we are concerned that customer confusion resulting from Libra’s actions will significantly impact our growth,” Cupi added.
• The UK startup contemplated the idea of conceding and saying, “we’re a small company,” but the legal team strongly advised they need to take action to protect the brand.

• “It wouldn’t have taken that much effort for Facebook to find out if there’s another Diem in financial services… They obviously took the view that ‘we can just crush them, we’re Facebook.’” – Cupi asserted.

• It’s worth noting that this is Facebook’s second similar situation. Shortly after announcing the initial Libra project last year, an Israeli insurance company called Libra sent a notice claiming that it owns all the rights to the “Libra” trademark.