Elon Musk’s X Corp. has secured a preliminary court order preventing social media startup Operation Bluebird from using the “Twitter” name and related trademarks for its platform. However, a Delaware federal judge rejected X’s request to block Bluebird from using the original Twitter bird logo, leaving part of the trademark dispute unresolved.
Elon Musk’s X Corp. has won a preliminary injunction against social media startup Operation Bluebird, preventing the company from using the “Twitter” name and related word marks for its platform.
U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware ruled that X was likely to establish that Bluebird’s use of the Twitter name would confuse consumers and infringe X’s trademark rights. The ruling came Thursday in the ongoing legal dispute between the two companies.
The decision represents a partial victory for X. Connolly declined to prevent Operation Bluebird from using the Twitter bird logo, finding that X had likely abandoned its rights to that mark. The judge also found that X no longer had rights to the word “Tweet,” according to Reuters.
The dispute began after Operation Bluebird sought to revive the Twitter name for a competing social media service. The startup argued that X had abandoned its trademark rights after Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022 and subsequently rebranded the platform as X.
X rejected that argument and sued the startup, maintaining that its Twitter related trademarks remained enforceable and that Bluebird’s use of the branding could confuse consumers.
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Musk announced the rebranding of Twitter to X in 2023, replacing the platform’s familiar bird branding as the company moved away from the Twitter identity. Operation Bluebird subsequently sought to claim several Twitter related trademarks, arguing that the rebranding demonstrated an abandonment of the marks.
The latest ruling draws a distinction between the Twitter name and other elements of the former brand. While X can temporarily block Bluebird from using the Twitter name and related word marks, the startup can continue using the bird logo under the preliminary ruling.
Operation Bluebird has been developing a new social media platform aimed at reviving elements of the former Twitter identity. The startup had argued that X’s decision to abandon the branding after Musk’s acquisition meant the associated trademark rights were no longer protected.
The court’s preliminary ruling does not bring the broader trademark dispute to an end. The case, X Corp. v. Operation Bluebird Inc., remains pending in Delaware federal court.
The decision could have broader significance for companies that rebrand established products while retaining trademark rights to their former names. For now, however, X has secured the ability to prevent Operation Bluebird from using the Twitter name while the litigation continues.
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