X updates its terms, files countersuit to lay claim to the ‘Twitter’ trademark after newcomer’s challenge

Elon Musk’s X is updating its Terms of Service to bespeak it inactive lays assertion to the “Twitter” trademark. The determination to adhd this item to the company’s presumption follows an announcement from a Virginia-based startup, which precocious filed an exertion to trademark the word “Twitter.”

The startup, Operation Bluebird, claims that X had abandoned the marque “Twitter” by renaming its societal networking work “X.” In its petition to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filed connected December 2, the startup pointed to a station from X proprietor Musk connected July 23, 2023, which proclaimed that the societal web would soon “bid adieu to the twitter brand.”

X is present challenging that assertion with a countersuit of its own. In the caller filing, X says that it continues to exclusively ain the Twitter and Tweet trademarks and the bluebird logo.

Since filing its petition for cancellation, Operation Bluebird has been collecting imaginable idiosyncratic sign-ups for its ain societal web astatine a website named Twitter.new. The effort is headed up by 2 lawyers, including laminitis Michael Peroff, based successful Illinois, and Stephen Coates, antecedently a trademark lawyer astatine Twitter. Given their backgrounds, their assertion that they program to motorboat a caller work to rival X seems dubious. It’s much apt they privation to get the trademark, which has worth of its own.

Nevertheless, X isn’t taking its chances. Its revised Terms of Service, effectual arsenic of January 15, 2026, states:

“Nothing successful the Terms gives you a close to usage the X sanction oregon Twitter sanction oregon immoderate of the X oregon Twitter trademarks, logos, domain names, different distinctive marque features, and different proprietary rights, and you whitethorn not bash truthful without our explicit written consent.”

Previously, the presumption lone referenced X successful this section. There was nary notation of Twitter.

The presumption additionally see other, much insignificant updates, including mentions related to EU laws and generated content. X’s Privacy Policy was besides updated with a mates of references to property assurance technology.

Updated with nexus to countersuit pursuing archetypal publication.