X Sues Operation Bluebird Over Twitter Trademark
▼ Summary
– X Corp. is suing startup Operation Bluebird for allegedly attempting to steal the “Twitter” trademark, arguing the brand is still exclusively owned by X Corp.
– Operation Bluebird had petitioned to cancel X Corp.’s trademark rights, claiming the company legally abandoned the “Twitter” and “Tweet” brands.
– X Corp. contends its rebrand to “X” is not trademark abandonment, citing ongoing user references to “Twitter” and continued traffic to the twitter.com domain.
– The lawsuit accuses Operation Bluebird of trying to trade on Twitter’s goodwill by using a similar logo, name, and color scheme for its planned Twitter.new site.
– A trademark attorney notes X Corp. chose litigation over a standard trademark board defense, showing it is not willing to let others use the Twitter brand.
The legal battle over the iconic Twitter brand has escalated, with X Corp. filing a lawsuit against the startup Operation Bluebird. The Elon Musk-owned company alleges the new venture is attempting to steal valuable trademarks, arguing that Twitter never left and continues to be exclusively owned by X Corp. This move comes in direct response to the startup’s recent petition to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seeking to cancel X Corp.’s ownership of the “Twitter” and “Tweet” trademarks.
Operation Bluebird had claimed that X Corp. legally abandoned its rights to the brand by rebranding the platform to X, stating the company showed “no intention to resume use.” Concurrently, the startup filed its own trademark application for “Twitter” as part of its plan to launch a new social network at Twitter.new. X Corp.’s lawsuit forcefully counters this narrative, asserting that its corporate rebranding is not an abandonment of trademark rights. The filing points to ongoing public usage as evidence, noting that millions of users still refer to the platform as Twitter and call posts “tweets,” while many websites retain the familiar bird favicon when linking to the site.
The complaint highlights that as of a recent date, over four million users accessed the service through the twitter.com domain, which now redirects to x.com. X Corp. accuses Operation Bluebird of deliberately creating consumer confusion by adopting a logo, name, and color scheme strikingly similar to the original Twitter brand. The startup has already begun taking reservations for account handles on its planned platform. “Bluebird has made no secret of the fact that it is trying to trade on TWITTER’s goodwill and reputation,” the lawsuit states, arguing the startup chose this path instead of creating an original brand name like other competitors.
In its filing, X Corp. requests the court to issue an order preventing Operation Bluebird from using any trademarks associated with the Twitter brand. The company also seeks a judicial directive for the USPTO to deny and invalidate the startup’s trademark application. Furthermore, X Corp. is asking for monetary damages it claims to have suffered due to alleged copyright infringement. Legal experts observing the case note the strategic nature of this lawsuit. Trademark attorney Josh Gerben commented that X Corp. had alternative avenues, such as defending the cancellation petition before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, but chose litigation instead. This case demonstrates, he observed, that while the company may have attempted to move on from the Twitter name, it is unequivocally not prepared to let another entity claim it. Operation Bluebird has not yet issued a public response to the lawsuit.
(Source: The Verge)
