Douglas Masters, a trademark attorney, emphasized that protecting a single letter such as an “X” can be particularly challenging, especially when it is used commercially on a large scale and lacks distinguishing characteristics.
In a bold and unexpected move, Twitter owner and former CEO Elon Musk recently announced an initiative to change the company’s name, changing the company’s name to “X”.
The switch to X is likely the first of many moves in Twitter’s gradual transition to X Corp, Musk’s promised and long-awaited “do everything.” However, this seemingly innocuous rebranding has sparked a firestorm of legal issues for the company, as trademark disputes and intellectual property challenges threaten to overshadow the intended shift.
Trademark infringement concerns
in a report From Reuters, trademark attorney Josh Gerben confirmed that there is a “100% chance” that Twitter will face lawsuits over its rebranding to “X,” adding that nearly 900 active US trademark registrations already cover the letter “X” across various industries.
Trademarks play an important role in protecting trade names, logos and slogans that distinguish the source of goods or services. When a new trademark is likely to cause confusion among consumers about existing trademarks, the owners of those trademarks have the right to claim infringement.
In the case of Twitter’s rebranding to an “X,” companies that already trademark the letter “X” or similar stylized versions may argue that the new logo and name could create confusion among consumers.
Specifically, the report highlighted that Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) formerly known as Facebook and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) already own intellectual property rights related to the letter itself. Both companies have intellectual property rights over the letter “X” in different contexts.
Microsoft’s ownership of the “X” trademark is associated with communications related to the Xbox video game system. On the other hand, Meta Platforms has a federal trademark registered in 2019 covering the blue and white “X” for software and social media domains.
Trademark disputes are complex legal matters, and it is difficult to predict the course of action each company will take. Whether or not Microsoft and Meta will sue Twitter for trademark infringement depends largely on their perception of the threat posed by Twitter’s rebranding.
Douglas Masters, a trademark attorney, emphasized that protecting a single letter such as an “X” can be particularly challenging, especially when it is used commercially on a large scale and lacks distinguishing characteristics. As a result, the protection afforded to the Twitter “X” logo is likely to be limited and only applicable to graphics that closely resemble its specific logo.
Trademark Claims Meta
Meanwhile, Meta’s rebranding from Facebook to Meta wasn’t without its fair share of intellectual property challenges.
Upon changing its name, Meta found itself embroiled in trademark disputes with investment firm Metacapital and virtual reality company MetaX. Both entities claimed that the new name “Meta” could create confusion among consumers and dilute their brand identities, given the similarity in their names.
In addition, Meta had to Stabilizes Another dispute concerned its new infinity symbol logo, suggesting that the rebranding process was not without legal hurdles.
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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalist who enjoys writing about real-world applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive public acceptance and global integration of the emerging technology. His desire to educate people about cryptocurrencies has inspired his contributions to popular blockchain media and websites.
