#TwitterX: Possible lawsuits loom over Elon Musk as Meta and Microsoft hold rights to 'X'
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Twitterati drawing parallels between the microblogging website and a very famous pornsite, Xvideos, might not be the last of Twitter’s problems. It seems like the platform, now rebranded to X, might run into legal problems over its logo and new name in the near future.
Given that its rival companies like Meta and Microsoft, among a hundred others, have already trademarked the letter X in one way or another, this could be a point of contention with X.
US has over 900 trademarks for X
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben said he counted over 900 live trademark registrations for the letter X in the US among a wide range of industries, reported Reuters.
As per the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Meta registered the ‘X’ trademark in 2019, which, with its white and light blue colored ‘X,’ is very different from the new Twitter logo. The logo has been trademarked for use in the software and social media industries.
Meta itself ran into intellectual property challenges when it changed its name from Facebook in 2021. Its lawsuits with investment firm Metacapital and virtual-reality company MetaX are still ongoing, reported Reuters.
It will be a tit-for-tat situation if Meta decides to sue the former bird company, as earlier this month Elon Musk’s lawyer sent an email to Mark Zuckerberg after Meta launched a Twitter rival called Threads on July 6. Musk accused Zuckerberg of hiring former Twitter employees to get their hands on Twitter’s trade secrets and intellectual property.
But if Meta decides to sue, it will have to get in line
Since 2003, Microsoft has owned the X trademark for its video game platform Xbox. Andres Guadamuz, a law and technology academic, tweeted: “Microsoft owns a trademark for X. So Musk has destroyed a loved and strong brand, for potential years of litigation, and potentially no brand."
And the icing on the cake: Microsoft owns a trademark for X. So Musk has destroyed a loved and strong brand, for potential years of litigation, and potentially no brand. https://t.co/OztqYGeIMK
— Andres Guadamuz (@technollama) July 24, 2023
This won’t be the first time that the threat of a legal battle would hang over Microsoft and Twitter’s heads. Elon Musk has previously accused Microsoft of using Twitter’s APIs free of charge which has, in turn, generated billions of dollars in revenue for Microsoft.
This comes after Musk merged Twitter with X Corp in April 2023. Devising his plans for the ‘Digital Town Square,’ Musk said in a tweet: “In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world. The Twitter name does not make sense in that context, so we must bid adieu to the bird.”
Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app. This is not simply a company renaming itself, but doing the same thing.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2023
The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like…
If you want to see if any trademark has already been registered or applied for in the US, then simply head over to the USPTO’s database called Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).
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