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Paper app CEO asks Facebook to 'stop using our brand name'

Paper app CEO asks Facebook to 'stop using our brand name'

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Facebook announced its new, gorgeous mobile app Paper last week, paving the way to today's launch on iOS. It's already an impressive new way of navigating Facebook. However, the company is now in hot water over the name, since Paper by FiftyThree, a well-regarded app in the App Store, has been around since 2012. FiftyThree CEO Georg Petschnigg took to the company blog this morning to politely ask that Facebook "stop using our brand name."

"There's a simple fix here."

Petschnigg writes that the Paper developers, along with others online and in the press, were surprised and confused after last week's announcement. After FiftyThree reached out, he writes, Facebook apologized for the confusion. However, the CEO is now calling for a change to the app's name. After all, his company's Paper has garnered plenty of praise and recognition since its debut to stand as the one-and-only app with the name. "There’s a simple fix here," Petschnigg says. "We think Facebook can apply the same degree of thought they put into the app into building a brand name of their own. An app about stories shouldn’t start with someone else’s story."

The new Paper app just launched, and it's already the best Facebook app ever. But, simple solution or not, the name issue is still unresolved. We've reached out to both companies for comment.

Update: Facebook has declined to comment at this time.