It’s been years since Elon Musk took over Twitter and rebranded it as “X.” Since then, he’s aggressively tried to leave Twitter’s iconography behind. In one post, he even said he would “bid adieu to the Twitter brand and… all the birds.” However, this aggressive rebrand may have left the Twitter trademark vulnerable to appropriation.
On December 2, 2025, an American startup company known as Operation Bluebird filed a trademark cancellation petition against the social media giant. The brand claims that Musk’s social media platform has essentially abandoned the Twitter trademark. If the cancellation is successful, a new Twitter may be on the horizon.
Could Musk Lose the Twitter Trademark?
Under U.S. trademark law, companies have to use their trademarks actively in commerce to retain rights. One cannot simply sit on their rights and not exercise them. If a brand identifier falls out of use, it becomes an abandoned trademark. At such a point, other companies could hypothetically file for registration and take control of the trademark.
This is the goal of Operation Bluebird. The brand plans to launch a new Twitter platform, Twitter.new. On the website, the term “The public square is broken” immediately pops up. This is a reference to Twitter once being known as the public square. Taking on X Corp. and Elon Musk may be a tall order, but it’s very possible that Operation Bluebird could be successful.
In the cancellation filing, the company claims that X has abandoned the Twitter trademark. The submission also states that X committed fraud by requesting trademark extensions with no bona fide intent to use certain Twitter-adjacent marks. However, this is not the first time X has faced such a challenge. In the past, it has been successful at maintaining its unused trademark.
What Are the Arguments Against X Corp. Owning Twitter?
In May 2022, a trademark application was submitted to claim exclusive rights to the term “But his tweets.” The filing was a play on “But her emails,” a term used in support of Hillary Clinton, submitted by a Donald Trump fan. Even though Musk was still friendly with Trump at the time, X Corp. submitted a trademark opposition to prevent registration.
Even though Twitter had rebranded to X and Musk wanted to “bid adieu” to the entire brand, the company still fought to safeguard the Twitter trademark. In the end, a ruling was issued against the applicant. “But his tweets” did not receive registration. However, this seems to have been a default judgment based on the applicant’s failure to respond to the opposition.
That means no real decision was reached in the case regarding the continued rights belonging to X. In fact, it appears as if the individual applicant simply wasn’t ready to take on a social media powerhouse with the world’s richest person at the helm. Twitter.new doesn’t seem to have the same reservations.
What Happens Next?
When X submitted a trademark opposition against the “But his tweets” trademark application, it essentially went on the offensive. Since the company was taking on a single individual – who undoubtedly did not have the resources of Musk – it easily emerged victorious. In reality, there wasn’t even a real fight to witness.
With Twitter.new aiming to take over the Twitter trademark, X now needs to go on the defensive. Operation Bluebird has fired the first shot in what could be an extended war. In reality, the startup company has a solid argument. While proving fraud may be a difficult endeavor, it does seem as though X Corp. may have abandoned commercial use of the Twitter brand.
While the abandonment claim is plausible — and targets several Twitter trademarks – this is unlikely to be an easy win for Project Bluebird. X Corp. could claim that it maintains residual goodwill since consumers still commonly refer to the website as “Twitter.” The brand can also claim that it intends to resume use at some point.
Regardless of the eventual outcome, it will be interesting to see how far Musk will go to protect a brand he has no interest in using.
