What to know
- X has updated its Terms of Service to state ownership of both X and Twitter trademarks.
- The update came after the Petition by Operation Bluebird, which argued that the Twitter trademark has been abandoned.
- X responded with a countersuit, ownership of the Twitter name, tweets and the bluebird logo.
- The revised Terms of Service, effective from January 15, 2026, prohibit the use of Twitter or X branding without consent.
X has updated its Terms of Service, indicating that it still owns the Twitter trademark. The move came after a Virginia-based startup recently applied for the use of the trademark.
As per the Operation Bluebird startup, since the renaming, X has abandoned the Twitter brand. They filed a petition on December 2 at the US Patent and Trademark Office, pointing to one of Musk's July 23, 2023, posts, stating “bid adieu to the Twitter brand.”
X has challenged the claim with its own countersuit. In the filing, they have stated that they continue to own the bluebird logo along with Twitter and Tweets trademark.
Operation Bluebird, a new social network on Twitter.new website is seeing potential user sign-ups since they filed a petition for cancellation. It is headed by Michael Peroff, founder and lawyer based in Illinois and Stephen Coates, a former trademark lawyer at Twitter. They seem to acquire the trademark for its value.
However, X is not taking any chances and has revised the Terms of Service, which will come into effect from January 15, 2026. It 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.
Previously, they only mentioned X in this section, with no mention of Twitter. The terms also include minor changes for mentions related to the EU laws. The Privacy Policy has also been updated with references to age assurance technology.
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