In July 2023, Musk himself tweeted that “we will bid adieu to the twitter model, and progressively, all of the birds.”
That was when Peroff, a Chicago-area legal professional specializing in trademark and IP legislation, noticed a possibility not solely to assert the identify Twitter but additionally to make use of the enduring illustrated emblem that was affectionately referred to internally as “Larry Chook.”
Peroff and others started formally organizing Operation Bluebird, a method to deliver again Twitter in identify, companies, and format, catering particularly to business manufacturers.
Some companies have been reluctant to promote on X for concern that they are going to be related to unsavory content material, equivalent to extremist views, scam-like posts, or pornbots. In September 2024, market analysis agency Kantar put out a study noting that 26 p.c of surveyed entrepreneurs deliberate to desert their advert campaigns on X.
“We expect our moderation instruments will assist the dialogue evolve into one thing extra accountable,” Peroff stated. “Manufacturers are caught on X as a result of they haven’t any different place to go.”
Whereas Threads, which is owned by Meta, started testing advertisements earlier this 12 months, solely not too long ago did it attain the size—around 400 million monthly active users—that Twitter had on the time of its acquisition by Musk. Neither Mastodon nor Bluesky have any promoting in the intervening time.
Mark Lemley, a Stanford Legislation professor and knowledgeable in trademark legislation, advised Ars that X may be capable to defend the Twitter marks if it could actually present that it’s nonetheless utilizing them.
“Mere ‘token use’ gained’t be sufficient to order the mark,” Lemley wrote in an electronic mail. “Or [X] may defend if it could actually present that it plans to return to utilizing Twitter. Shoppers clearly nonetheless know the model identify. It appears bizarre to assume another person may seize the identify when customers nonetheless affiliate it with the ex-social media web site of that identify. However that’s what the legislation says.”
Mark Jaffe, an mental property legal professional in California who just isn’t concerned within the case, thinks that X Company could have a battle to maintain the Twitter marks.
“As soon as it’s not distinguished on the web site and the proprietor, the CEO, says it’s now referred to as this and never that,” he advised Ars, “I don’t know the way you beat an abandonment argument.”
