X Corp sues startup over bid to revive Twitter brand

Elon Musk’s X Corp has taken legal action against a U.S.-based startup after it moved to cancel the company’s Twitter trademarks, escalating a dispute over whether the globally recognised brand has been abandoned following its rebranding to X.

In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in a Delaware federal court, X Corp accused Virginia-based Operation Bluebird of trademark infringement, arguing that its attempt to claim the Twitter name amounts to an effort to unlawfully seize a still-active brand. X told the court that the Twitter identity remains “alive and well” despite the company’s high-profile rebrand and is not available for others to use.

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Operation Bluebird recently petitioned the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel X’s federal Twitter trademarks, contending that X no longer uses them and has therefore relinquished its rights. The startup says it plans to launch a rival social media platform under the banner “twitter.new” and has separately applied to register its own Twitter trademark.

Responding to the lawsuit, Operation Bluebird founder Michael Peroff said the cancellation request is grounded in established trademark law and insisted the company is prepared for a prolonged legal battle. Representatives for X did not immediately comment on the filing.

X maintains that Operation Bluebird’s plans would confuse users and businesses, and it is seeking unspecified monetary damages as part of the case.

Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion and formally rebranded the platform as X the following year, publicly stating that the company would move away from the Twitter name and its iconic bird logo. However, X argues that a rebrand does not equate to abandoning trademark rights.

In its court filing, X said the Twitter brand continues to exist in multiple forms, noting that millions of users still access the service through twitter.com, and that advertisers, media organisations and the public frequently refer to the platform as Twitter. The company also said it continues to actively protect and enforce its Twitter trademarks.

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The trademark cancellation petition was filed with the USPTO earlier this month by Stephen Coates, a former Twitter trademark attorney who now serves as Operation Bluebird’s general counsel. Legal experts say the case could test how U.S. courts interpret trademark abandonment in the context of major corporate rebrands.

At the centre of the dispute is a key legal question: whether Musk’s decision to reposition Twitter as X represents a strategic evolution of the brand—or an opening for others to claim one of the most recognisable names in social media.