X Corp. has filed a lawsuit against a new startup called Operation Bluebird, accusing it of trying to take over the Twitter name and brand.
The company says that even though Twitter was rebranded as X, it never gave up its legal rights to the Twitter trademark.
The lawsuit was filed after Operation Bluebird announced plans to launch a new social media platform and claimed that X Corp. abandoned the Twitter name. The startup recently asked the US Patent and Trademark Office to cancel X Corp.’s ownership of trademarks connected to Twitter, including the words “Twitter” and “Tweet.” At the same time, it submitted its own trademark application and began taking reservations for usernames on a website called Twitter.new.
X Corp. strongly disagrees with these claims. The company argues that changing a brand name does not mean abandoning trademark rights. It says Twitter is still widely used in everyday language, with many people continuing to call the platform Twitter and referring to posts as tweets. X Corp. also notes that some websites still show the Twitter bird icon when linking to the platform.
According to the lawsuit, millions of users still access the service through the twitter.com domain, which now redirects visitors to x.com. X Corp. believes this ongoing use clearly shows that the Twitter brand remains active and legally protected.
The company also accuses Operation Bluebird of intentionally creating confusion. X Corp. claims the startup is using a name, logo style, and color scheme that closely resemble Twitter’s original branding to benefit from its popularity and long-established reputation. The lawsuit argues that Operation Bluebird could have chosen a completely new identity, but instead decided to build on a brand that is already worth billions of dollars.
X Corp. is asking the court to stop Operation Bluebird from using any Twitter-related trademarks. It also wants the trademark office to reject and invalidate the startup’s application and is seeking financial damages for what it says is trademark infringement.
Trademark lawyer Josh Gerben says X Corp. did not need to file a lawsuit and could have handled the dispute through trademark review proceedings alone. However, he believes the case shows that while X Corp. may have tried to move away from the Twitter name publicly, it is not willing to let anyone else take control of it.
If this article helped you, please consider supporting our work. Every small contribution keeps Abijita.com independent and running.
Operation Bluebird has not yet responded publicly to the lawsuit or the accusations made by X Corp.
