Twitter's New Name “X”: Legal Trademark Issues
It appears that the decision by Elon Musk to rebrand Twitter as “X” could potentially lead to legal complications due to existing trademarks on the letter “X” owned by other companies. According to trademark attorney Josh Gerben, there are nearly 900 active US trademark registrations that already cover the letter “X” in various industries.
For example, Microsoft has owned an “X” trademark related to communications about its Xbox video game system since 2003. Meta Platforms, the company behind the Threads platform, which is a competitor to Twitter, also owns a federal trademark registered in 2019 covering a blue-and-white letter “X” for software and social media.
These companies may not use Twitter immediately, but they could take legal action if they believe that Twitter's use of the letter “X” encroaches on their established brand equity related to that letter.
The primary concern in such cases is consumer confusion, and the remedies for trademark infringement can range from monetary damages to blocking the use of the infringing mark.
Meta itself faced intellectual property challenges when it changed its name from Facebook, including trademark lawsuits from other entities. Moreover, if Twitter proceeds with the name change, there could be further claims from other companies wanting to use the letter “X” in their branding.
As for Twitter's protection of the “X” brand, it might be limited, especially if the new logo does not have distinctive features. Trademark protection typically applies to specific graphics and elements, so Twitter's protection could be narrow, according to Douglas Masters, a trademark attorney.
Ultimately, the situation may lead to legal battles, and the outcome will depend on how well each party can defend its intellectual property rights and prove consumer confusion or the likelihood of it occurring. It remains to be seen how this branding change will unfold and if Twitter will face legal challenges from other companies that own trademarks related to the letter “X.”
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