A federal judge has granted X Corp. a preliminary injunction blocking Operation Bluebird from using the Twitter name, but denied similar protection for the terms “tweet” and the bird logo. Chief Judge Colm Connolly of the U.S. District Court in Delaware ruled that X is likely to succeed on trademark infringement and dilution claims tied to the platform’s former name. The ruling means Operation Bluebird, a rival service, cannot use the Twitter name while the lawsuit proceeds.
Connolly found that X had not entirely abandoned the Twitter name, pointing to the current listing for the X app in Apple’s App Store. That listing opens with the clause “Welcome to X (formerly known as Twitter),” which the judge said tells customers the app they knew as Twitter is now X. X’s legal director, Naser Baseer, testified that the clause was deliberately added so people searching for Twitter, inside or outside the App Store, would find the same platform. Survey evidence also showed that people still view Twitter as a famous brand, and X benefits from that goodwill by linking the names in the listing.
The judge noted that twitter.com redirects to x.com could strengthen X’s case, but he did not weigh that question in this order. Because X could face irreparable harm if Operation Bluebird profits from using the Twitter name at X’s expense, the block will remain in effect until the litigation is resolved. However, X was less successful in arguing it had not abandoned other marks, including “tweet” and the bird logo.
Connolly cited public statements from Elon Musk about bidding adieu to the Twitter brand and cutting the logo off the building as strong evidence that X intends not to resume use of those marks. X attempted to show continued use by presenting 12 undated webpages featuring the bird logo or the word tweet, but the judge found these were remnants of prior ownership, not current bona fide use. Baseer could not identify any deliberate decision to keep those pages up during the rebranding.
Legacy social media accounts, including the deactivated @twitter account directing users to follow @x, were also dismissed as relics of the past. Baseer’s claim that more than 200,000 users still have the legacy Twitter app installed on their phones was unsubstantiated, and he could not answer a question about push updates. X also pointed to vendor communications, but the judge found a single email with attachments using the bird logo was not evidence of advertising or selling X’s services.
Connolly concluded that Operation Bluebird is likely to prove X abandoned the tweet mark and bird logo, denying X’s motion to block those uses. Operation Bluebird President Stephen Coates celebrated the outcome, saying the rival kept the word Twitter but let go of the bird and tweet. The rival app has already been renamed Tweet.App, and its more than 172,000 users who requested handles will see no other changes.
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