Previously, he renamed Twitter to X
Billionaire Elon Musk’s decision to rename Twitter to X has already sparked heated discussion. A host of companies, including Meta* and Microsoft, already have the rights to such a brand.
X is so widely used and cited in trademarks that lawsuits are only a matter of time, experts say.
“There is a 100 percent chance that someone will sue Twitter,” said trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who said he counted about 900 active U.S. trademark registrations that already cover the letter X in a wide variety of industries.
Elon Musk is 100% likely to be sued: in the US alone, trademark X belongs to 900 companies
On Monday, Musk renamed social networking site Twitter to X and unveiled the social media platform’s new logo, a stylized black and white version of the letter.
Microsoft has owned the Xbox-related X brand since 2003. Meta*, whose Threads platform is a new competitor to Twitter, owns a federally registered trademark in 2019 covering a blue-and-white “X” for fields including software and social media.
Meta* and Microsoft won’t sue unless they feel that X threatens the value of their brands, Gerben said.
* The Meta company is recognized as extremist in Russia and banned.
