“Twitter never left:” Elon Musk’s X clutches to trademark blue bird amid copyright battle

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has just updated its Terms of Service to show that it hasn’t abandoned the Twitter trademark and doesn’t want any other platform using it.

Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) hasn’t done away with the Twitter trademark, according to its updated Terms of Service.

“Nothing in the Terms gives you the right to use the X name or Twitter name or any of the X or Twitter trademarks, logos, domain names, other distinctive brand features, or other proprietary rights, and you may not do so without our express written consent.”

This update comes just after tech startup Operation Bluebird filed a petition to use the terms “Tweet” and the name “Twitter” for its new social media platform, set to be called “twitter.new.”

The Virginia start-up filed a petition for cancellation of the Twitter trademark, saying that it “seeks to use and register the ‘Twitter’ and ‘Tweet’ brands for new products and services, including a social media platform that will be located at the website twitter.new.”

The start-up cites Musk’s previous tweet as damning evidence that the blue bird is extinct and was swiftly replaced by X branding.

Operation Bluebird filed an application to trademark “Twitter,” and Musk’s platform has filed a countersuit to block the startup’s acquisition of the Twitter trademark.

“As part of a self-described 'heist,’ Defendant Bluebird is brazenly attempting to steal the world-famous TWITTER brand,” the lawsuit, which was shared with TechCrunch, alleges.

The lawsuit claims that Bluebird sees the Twitter trademark as an invaluable asset and planned to bring Twitter back after X seemingly abandoned it.

Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion back in 2022 and said that the social media platform would “bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”

Now, X’s lawyers are saying that Bluebird can’t bring Twitter back because “Twitter never left and continues to be exclusively owned by X Corp.”

It seems that Bluebird’s interest in the Twitter trademark has well and truly spooked Musk, as seen from the updated Terms of Service, which says that “all rights, title, and interest in and to the Services (excluding Content provided by users) are and will remain our and our licensors' exclusive property.”

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