He previously renamed Twitter to X
Billionaire Elon Musk’s decision to rename Twitter X has already caused 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 legal action is only a matter of time, experts say.
“There’s a 100 percent chance that someone will sue Twitter,” said trademark lawyer Josh Gerben, who said he counts about 900 active trademark registrations in the U.S. that already cover the letter X in a variety of industries.
Elon Musk is 100% likely to face legal action: in the US alone, trademark X is owned by 900 companies
On Monday, Musk renamed the social network Twitter X and unveiled the social media platform’s new logo, a stylized black and white version of the letter.
Microsoft has owned the X trademark, associated with Xbox, since 2003. Meta*, whose Threads platform is a new competitor to Twitter, owns a federal trademark filed in 2019 covering the blue and white “X” for areas including software and social media.
Meta* and Microsoft won’t sue unless they feel X threatens the value of their brands, Gerben said.
* The Meta company is recognized as an extremist in Russia and is banned.
