Elon Musk’s plans to rebrand Twitter as X may not go as he and CEO Linda Yaccarino may have planned. As it turns out, several tech companies in the US, including Microsoft and Meta, own several trademarks on the letter, and may sue Musk over it
Elon Musk’s recent Twitter rebrand has become significantly more complicated. To summarize the situation: the billionaire owner of Twitter, who has been eager to acquire the domain X.com for a long time, announced that he purchased the social media app for a whopping $44 billion.
Subsequently, he fired a large portion of the workforce, implemented changes that negatively impacted the site’s infrastructure, and put employees in uncomfortable office environments. The plan was to rebrand Twitter as “X,” with Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino claiming it would become an AI-powered everything app.
However, the current changes seem minimal, mainly consisting of a logo switch and a somewhat unclear domain name system.
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Adding more confusion to this seemingly hasty decision, it turns out that Microsoft and Meta, two giants in Silicon Valley, own several trademarks for the letter “X.” This means that Musk might face significant legal challenges in the coming months or years due to this move.
Meta, Microsoft and several other companies own the copyright to X
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben stated that there is a high likelihood that Twitter will face lawsuits from various parties due to their rebranding to “X.” He pointed out that there are nearly 900 active U.S. trademark registrations already covering the letter “X” in various industries, which could potentially lead to legal disputes.
However, Gerben also mentioned that Meta (the owner of the Threads platform) and Microsoft might not take legal action unless they perceive Twitter’s use of the letter “X” as a threat to their existing brand equity associated with the letter.
According to Andres Guadamuz, an intellectual property law faculty member at the University of Sussex, “Microsoft owns a trademark for X,” and this decision by Musk could lead to a prolonged legal battle and potentially result in no brand identity at all.
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
Since 2003, Microsoft has held a trademark for the letter “X” related to communications concerning its Xbox video-game system. On the other hand, Meta Platforms, the company behind the Threads platform, which is a new rival to Twitter, owns a federal trademark registered in 2019 for a blue-and-white letter “X.” This trademark covers various fields, including software and social media.
Meta also owns an X mark, this one is in the relevant class (including social media). Zuckerberg doesn’t have to fight Musk, just get his lawyers to do it. https://t.co/wr1876Vlz3
— Andres Guadamuz (@technollama) July 25, 2023
“So Musk has destroyed a loved and strong brand, for potential years of litigation, and potentially no brand,” he added.
Legacy destroyed?
Douglas Masters, another trademark attorney from the law firm Loeb & Loeb, explained that protecting a single letter like “X” can be challenging, especially considering its widespread commercial popularity.
He further stated that Twitter’s protection of their “X” logo is likely to be limited to very similar graphics to the current logo, as the existing design lacks significant distinctiveness, resulting in narrow protection under trademark laws.
Musk’s history with Gates and Zuckerberg
Additionally, it’s important to mention that Elon Musk and Microsoft have a rather strained history. Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates, who famously has tried to short Tesla stock a number of times.
Gates and Musk’s relationship is characterized by a humorous feud through memes. Microsoft has also made significant investments in OpenAI, an AI company co-founded by Musk in 2015 under the leadership of Sam Altman. However, Musk left the firm in 2018 under rumoured unfavourable circumstances.
Furthermore, Musk had recently threatened to sue Microsoft, alleging that OpenAI’s AI training practices involved unlawfully-acquired Twitter data.
Then there is the dispute between Musk and Zuckerberg, which involved all sorts of namecalling and a proposal to fight things out, inside a ring, UFC-style. Meta’s Threads, which was supposed to be the definitive Twitter killer, and had Musk and Yaccarino worried when it had launched.
However, since then, the buzz around Thread has died down considerably, just likt the platform itself. Musk’s lawyer had even threatened to sue Meta for how similar Threads was to Twitter.
What happens next?
Interestingly, Musk has claimed ownership of the domain “X.com,” stating a few years ago that he purchased it from PayPal for nostalgic reasons. He expressed gratitude to PayPal for allowing him to buy back the domain, citing its sentimental value.
Given Musk’s apparent attachment to the name “X,” it wouldn’t be surprising if he is aware of Microsoft’s trademark on the letter and willing to take legal action against them.
Musk has shown a willingness to challenge his competitors, and he might even go so far as to suggest a face-off with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in the Vegas Octagon to settle any potential future disputes, just the way he did with Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg.
