Reuters: Microsoft and Meta have rights to ‘X’, new name Twitter

Microsoft, Meta and hundreds of other companies have rights to the X symbol as a trademark, although the new Twitter would not be in immediate danger. On the other hand, it is likely that the renamed platform will be sued.

There are nearly 900 parties in the United States alone that have rights to the symbol X, a trademark attorney says told Reuters. For example, Microsoft has trademarked a platform containing information about the Xbox ecosystem since 2003. Meta has trademarked a specific x-cross for use on its social media and software.

According to the source, it is certain that parties will sue Elon Musk’s social medium for the use of the name X. Reuters, on the other hand, emphasizes that trademark laws can only be invoked if a name could cause confusion among consumers. According to the lawyer, the letter x is a frequently used symbol and it is difficult to shield a single letter.

The logo of the former Twitter could possibly be a point of contention. To achieve this, the logos in question must cause confusion among consumers, for example when similar logos are used within the same sector or comparable services. For the time being, the tech companies involved have not responded to the reports surrounding the trademark X.

CEO Linda Yaccarino officially changed the name of the social media platform Twitter to X on Monday, also exchanging the blue bird logo for the letter. The website X.com already refers to the domain that is currently called Twitter.com.