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Chief Judge Colm Connolly rules that X Corp. retains the Twitter trademark while Operation Bluebird gains rights to the bird logo and the word tweet

A federal court in Delaware ruled that X Corp. maintains the trademark for the name "Twitter," but the company has likely abandoned the marks for the bird logo and the word "tweet." Chief Judge Colm Connolly determined that X Corp. still trades on the goodwill of the former brand, citing the X app listing in the Apple App Store which includes the parenthetical "(formerly known as Twitter)." Naser Baseer, a legal director at X, testified that the company deliberately included this clause to ensure users searching for Twitter would find the X app. However, the judge found that public statements by Elon Musk during the rebranding process provided compelling evidence of an intent to move away from the bird logo and the word "tweet." Operation Bluebird, a startup led by Stephen Coates, has already rebranded its platform as Tweet.app to utilize the freed-up marks. The startup is positioning itself as a member-owned alternative to X, charging users $20 to reserve a handle. The court's decision is a preliminary injunction, and the final litigation will continue until November 2027.

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