X Fights to Keep Twitter Trademark Against New Startup

Elon Musk’s platform, X, is taking aggressive legal steps to maintain control over the “Twitter” brand. The company has officially updated its Terms of Service and launched a countersuit to assert that it still holds exclusive rights to the name, logo, and associated trademarks.

The defensive legal maneuver comes after a Virginia-based startup, Operation Bluebird, initiated a bid to seize the trademark. On December 2, the startup filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, arguing that X had effectively abandoned the “Twitter” brand when it rebranded the service to X.

The Basis of the Challenge

Operation Bluebird’s strategy relies heavily on statements made by Elon Musk shortly after his acquisition of the platform. The startup highlighted a post from July 23, 2023, where Musk declared the company would “bid adieu to the twitter brand.”

Behind the startup are two attorneys: Michael Peroff, based in Illinois, and Stephen Coates, a former trademark lawyer for the original Twitter. The group has been directing traffic to a website, Twitter.new, to collect user sign-ups. Given the professional backgrounds of the founders, industry observers suggest the goal is likely to acquire a valuable intellectual property asset rather than launch a direct competitor to X.

X’s Legal Response

In its recent countersuit, X explicitly maintains that it retains full ownership of the “Twitter” and “Tweet” trademarks, as well as the iconic bluebird logo. To bolster this position, the company revised its Terms of Service, which will take effect on January 15, 2026. The new language states:

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

This update marks a significant shift from previous terms, which only referenced the X brand. Alongside these trademark protections, X has implemented minor updates to its terms regarding EU regulations and generated content, while also adjusting its Privacy Policy to include references to age assurance technology.