Facebook Australian Trademark Filings Fuel Change of Name Rumours

Facebook Australian Trademark Filings Fuel Change of Name Rumours

Following reports on Wednesday that Facebook was going to rebrand to something else entirely, it seems the company’s operation could be known as ‘Horizon’ or even ‘Stories’, at least that’s what trademarks filed with the Australian government’s intellectual property register allude to.

As reported by our friends over at Business Insider Australia, Facebook filed four separate trademark applications on September 30 for the name ‘Horizon’. In an another filing, the company submitted a design for a new logo. (That logo is currently in use for Facebook View).

According to Business Insider Australia, that logo was submitted alongside a third application for the name ‘Stories’.

Stories is already the name of its Snapchat-targeting video thing on Instagram.

The Verge broke the news that Facebook was potentially going to shake its name, and reported that it was because CEO Mark Zuckerberg wanted to be known for creating the metaverse.

We reported last month that the Zuckerberg empire was committing to building the metaverse ‘responsibly’.

Facebook is investing heavily in its ambitious metaverse plan, which, aside from being the latest tech buzzword, is described by the company as a “set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you”. An idea that’s heavily reliant on AR and VR.

Zuckerberg has spoken before about transitioning to a metaverse company. What that means exactly depends on who you ask, but this was the Facebook CEO’s take when interviewed:

I think that this is a persistent, synchronous environment where we can be together, which I think is probably going to resemble some kind of a hybrid between the social platforms that we see today, but an environment where you’re embodied in it.

In Australian trademark filings for the name ‘Horizon’, we don’t see any reference from Facebook to ‘metaverse’ but there’s ‘augmented reality’ aplenty. “Computer programming services for creating augmented reality (and virtual reality) videos and games” it says.

Further goods and services ‘Horizon’ would provide include:

  • Software to enable or facilitate the uploading, downloading, streaming, posting, displaying, blogging, linking, modifying, sharing or otherwise providing electronic media or information over communication networks;
  • Software to enable or facilitate the sharing and displaying a user’s location, planning activities with other users and making recommendations;
  • Customised electronic personal and group profiles or webpages featuring user-defined or specified information, including, audio, video, images, text, content and data;
  • And a whole bunch of other stuff that is, by definition, what happens on Facebook currently.

A spokesperson for Facebook told Business Insider Australia that the company doesn’t “comment on rumour or speculation”. So we guess the company will remain known as Facebook until we (maybe) hear word on October 28 when it holds its Connect conference.


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