Twitter’s ‘X’ Rebrand Could Be In Jeopardy Due To Unforeseen Microsoft Trademark
Not caught up with Twitter’s incessant changes? Recently, billionaire owner Elon Musk announced that the social media platform would be rebranded to ‘X’—ditching its name and iconic bird logo for good.
Now, after unveiling the new emblem, it appears the site could find itself in a pickle over its newly-adopted moniker. It turns out, that technology giant Microsoft actually owns the trademark to the letter.
“Microsoft owns a trademark for X. So Musk has destroyed a loved and strong brand, for potential years of litigation, and potentially no brand,” tweeted Andres Guadamuz, who first highlighted the glaring issue.
And the icing on the cake: Microsoft owns a trademark for X. So Musk has destroyed a loved and strong brand, for potential years of litigation, and potentially no brand. https://t.co/OztqYGeIMK
— Andres Guadamuz (@technollama) July 24, 2023
Guadamuz, who serves as a faculty member in intellectual property law at the University of Sussex, attached a copy of a service mark filed by Microsoft at the United States Patent and Trademark Office back in 2003.
Interestingly, author Paris Marx pointed out that the ‘X’ logo itself wasn’t a new emblem; rather, it was taken from an old podcast hosted by a fan of Musk.
Twitter’s new X logo wasn’t made by an in-house designer. It’s from an old podcast hosted by one of the cult that Elon took from his replies.
— Paris Marx (@parismarx) July 24, 2023
The font is @Monotype’s Special Alphabets 4. Who wants to bet Musk didn’t pay for the rights before slapping it all over the place? pic.twitter.com/vB33pDIzeb
While it was speculated that the logo was a copy of Monotype’s Special Alphabets 4, The Messenger confirmed with the type specialist that it wasn’t the capital X glyph from that particular typeface. As it seems, the actual font is called Blackboard Bold.
At least, as a consolation, Futurism noted that it does seem Musk owns “x.com,” having purchased the domain from PayPal years ago as it held “great sentimental value” to him.
Will Microsoft take action against Musk’s rebranded platform? It remains to be seen how the situation plays out, but it certainly doesn’t mark a great start to the new era of the site.
[via Futurism and The Messenger, cover image via PhotoPawel | Dreamstime.com]
