Twitter's "X" Rebranding Faces Legal Backlash - Meta, Microsoft Hold Trademark Rights

Twitter's recent rebranding under Elon Musk's ownership, replacing the blue bird with an 'X' logo, has stirred controversy. Industry experts forecast potential legal battles, as numerous companies, including Meta and Microsoft, already hold trademarks for "X." This change could incite confusion among consumers and raises questions about the infringement of intellectual property rights.

Musk's move to give Twitter a new look may result in possible legal issues since many firms, including Meta and Microsoft, have intellectual property (IP) rights over the said letter. Moreover, "X" is already widely used in many fields, so the company may have to deal with many issues in the future about its rebranding.

Twitter's new logo was unveiled on Monday this week, featuring a stylized version of the letter in black and white. Now, the existing owners of the "X" sign emblem can easily claim infringement against Twitter because its usage of the same emblem can cause confusion among consumers.

As per Reuters, Meta owns the trademark for "X," and it has been in the registry since 2019, and it covers use for social media and software. On the other hand, Microsoft also owns the X trademark for its Xbox video game system.

"There is a 100% chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody," Josh Gerbe, a well-known trademark attorney, said. He added that almost 900 trademark registrations in the United States already cover "X" for many businesses, which are still active.

Then again, the lawyer said that Meta and Microsoft may not sue Twitter for its new logo. However, if there comes a time when they feel threatened, they are likely to take legal action.

Fox Business further reported that the social media platform's updated logo is also similar to a Unicode character called the "mathematical double-struck capital X." With this, Kelly Hyman, a lawyer and legal analyst, told the publication that trademark has to be unique and distinctive because it s symbol that represents a company.

The legal expert said that Mark Zuckerberg's Meta may sue Twitter for trademark infringement, but the judge will ultimately decide on any argument between the companies. Hyman further explained, "A potential problem with the rebranding of Twitter is that Microsoft and Meta may hold trademarks on the X as a brand identity."

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