X Corp doesn’t want to let a startup revive Twitter brand
In a lawsuit filed in Delaware federal court in a new tab, X said its Twitter brand is still "alive and well."
X Corp, the company that owns the platform formerly known as “Twitter”, filed a lawsuit against a small startup called “Operation Bluebird” on December 16, 2025. At the heart of the case is the question of who controls the rights to the Twitter name and whether Elon Musk’s decision to rename the platform to “X” amounted to abandoning one of social media’s most recognizable brands.
A Virginia-based startup called Operation Bluebird, led in part by former Twitter trademark lawyer Stephen Coates, has filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to revoke X Corp’s trademarks for Twitter and Tweet.
The company argues that Musk’s rebranding, which began after the company acquired Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and accelerated in 2023, effectively eliminated commercial use of the Twitter name.
According to Bluebird, removing the bird logo, renaming the platform X, and publicly signaling the end of the old identity created a legal basis for others to claim the mark. The startup has even taken pre-orders for its proposed service under the twitter.new domain.
X Corp has strongly opposed the move. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Delaware, the company argues that the Twitter trademark has never been abandoned and is still in active use. It points to the continued existence of twitter.com, which still directs users to X’s platform, as well as the widespread public and corporate references to Twitter in the media, advertising, and everyday speech.
X argues that Bluebird’s attempt to use the name would mislead consumers and infringe on existing trademarks, and is asking the court to prohibit the startup from using the Twitter-related trademark and award damages.
Under US law, trademarks can be lost if they are no longer used in commerce, but proof of their use requires more than a name or logo change, and continued involvement with consumer associations and continued use can preserve rights even when a company changes its public identity.
Bluebird’s application relies on Musk’s own statements about “saying goodbye” to the Twitter brand, while X argues that cultural recognition and technical use show that the brand was never truly dormant.
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