A Bid to Reclaim Twitter’s Name Tests the Limits of Trademark Abandonment
Dec/12/2025
A Virginia-based startup calling itself Operation Bluebird has asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel X Corp.’s rights to the 'Twitter' and 'tweet' trademarks, arguing that Elon Musk’s rebranding has amounted to legal abandonment. The petition contends that the once-iconic bird has vanished from products, marketing, and services, opening the door for a revival under the banner Twitter.new. Backed by lawyers, including a former Twitter general counsel, the effort seeks to restore the platform’s role as a digital town square and lure back advertisers unsettled by X’s content risks. Legal experts caution, however, that X could still defend the marks if it proves continued use or a credible intent to resume them—underscoring how brand memory, consumer association, and trademark law now collide in Musk’s post-Twitter era.
