Do you refer to the social media platform X as Twitter? Would you like the name Twitter, and all of its original functionality, to return? You’re not alone.
Startup Operation Bluebird has filed a formal petition to claim the Twitter trademarks that were “abandoned” by Elon Musk when he began using the name “X.”
According to a Reuters report, Virginia-based Operation Bluebird filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel Musk’s trademarks. It was filed by Stephen Coates, a former trademark lawyer at Twitter who now serves as Operation Bluebird’s general counsel.
“I remember some time ago, I’ve had celebrities react to my content on Twitter during the Super Bowl or events,” Coates told Ars Technica. “And we want that experience to come back, that whole town square, where we are all meshed in there.”
The company also filed its own application to trademark “Twitter” and wants to be allowed to use the term “tweet” for a social media platform, “Twitter.new.”
“The TWITTER and TWEET brands have been eradicated from X Corp.’s products, services, and marketing, effectively abandoning the storied brand, with no intention to resume use of the mark,” the petition reads. “The TWITTER bird was grounded.”
Will Operation Bluebird be able to wrest ‘Twitter’ from Elon Musk, and will their new/old platform work?
If successful, Operation Bluebird told Ars Technica it will launch its new social media platform as early as late 2026. In their favor is the fact that Elon Musk did state a post on X in 2023 that the company would “bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”
Coates told The Verge, “We believe our position is very strong. X Corp. could escalate this away from the trademark office and to court, but we are ready to fight.”
Michael Perloff, another attorney, is the founder of Operation Bluebird. He believes X alternatives like Threads, Mastodon, and Bluesky have given users options. They just haven’t been able to match the original Twitter in scale or functionality.
“There certainly are alternatives,” Peroff told Ars Technica. “I don’t know that any of them at this point in time are at the scale that would make a difference in the national conversation, whereas a new Twitter really could.”
Perloff added, “We think our moderation tools will help the discussion evolve into something more responsible. Brands are stuck on X because they have no other place to go.”