The tech giant's move "obliterated" the smaller company's business, according to allegations in the complaint from MetaX, filed in the Southern District Court of New York on Tuesday. "Meta's small business stands no chance against the corporate behemoth," the complaint states.

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MetaX is seeking an injunction ordering Facebook's parent company to cease the use of the Meta name in connection with products, services or activities related to virtual, augmented or extended reality, as well as unspecified damages, according to the complaint.

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Representatives for the Facebook parent company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MetaX LLC, which was founded in 2010, creates immersive installations and activations incorporating AR and VR, visuals, sound and other technologies at events such as Coachella and SXSW — the likes of which Facebook-turned-Meta now seeks to do to promote its new strategy, the lawsuit claims. MetaX says it has also worked with popular digital artists such as Beeple, and claims its work has "laid the foundations for the developing, although not yet fully existent, 'metaverse.'"