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New Delhi: X Corp., owned by Elon Musk, has sued a social media startup based in the United States of America after it purported to acquire the brand name Twitter, which is the iconic trademark used by the company. In a federal court case in Delaware, X alleged that the startup attempted to take advantage of the rebranding of the company and illegally claim trademarks, which it argues are still securely in use.
X claimed that even though the platform changed its name, the Twitter brand is not something that is being dropped. The company claimed that the name still has worldwide recognition and commercial value, and therefore any effort to revoke its trademarks is untimely and deceptive.
As per the suit, X Corp still asserts that the Twitter identity has not yet disappeared in numerous aspects. The company has noted that millions of users continue to use the service via twitter.com, and advertisers, users and the general population still consistently address the service as Twitter. X further added that it keeps on keeping its trademarks related to Twitter on watch, guard and enforcement.
The objection emphasised that rebranding of a corporation does not equate to loss of rights in law. In simple terms, a rebrand does not amount to the rejection of trademark rights, X informed the court, and Twitter is one of the most identifiable brands in the world.
The case is filed against Virginia-based Operation Bluebird, which recently requested the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel X’s federal trademarks on Twitter. The startup also alleged that X had dropped the brand and alleged that it would resurrect it via a competing platform termed ‘twitter.new’.
The move was justified by Bluebird founder Michael Peroff, who argued that the cancellation request was based on an existing trademark law. He added that the company is willing to take the case to the end. A former Twitter trademark attorney, Stephen Coates, the general counsel of Bluebird, filed the petition.
X raised the alarm that letting another company run on the Twitter name would disorient users and companies. The firm is also demanding financial compensation, albeit not specifying the amount. Lawyers and representatives of X did not respond to the lawsuit instantly.
In 2022, Musk purchased Twitter at a valuation of $44 billion, and the following year, declared the rebranding to X, which indicates a more fundamental revolution of the platform. The lawsuit now prepares to establish a legal ordeal as to whether the most popular brand names in tech can be truly detached from their creator.
