'Meta' trademark applicant agrees to sell to Facebook for $20m

Mark Zuckerberg has yet again stumbled upon another issue in his quest to change Facebook's identity because someone was already ahead of him in trying to grab the "Meta" trademark and they're willing to give it up to Zuck for a steep price. 

Back in August, the founders of a company called Meta PC filed to trademark the word "Meta" for computers, laptops, tablets, software and more items relating to tech, a document by TMZ confirmed.

The founders, Joe Darger and Zack Shutt, have been operating Meta PC for a little over a year, but recently filed docs to formally trademark their brand, the report said.

While Meta PC's trademark petition hasn't yet been granted, they still have a lead on Zuckerberg if he tries to claim it for his rebranded company.

For that, Darger and Shutt are willing to give up their quest to lock the phrase down if Zuck will shell out $20 million.

Meta PC has already reaped some of Facebook's announcement benefits -- they've seen a 5,000 per cent increase in followers across their social media channels.

However, a source close to discussions told TMZ that Meta (Facebook) believes they have the rights necessary to adopt the "Meta" trademark for their goods and services.