A federal court in Delaware has temporarily blocked Operation Bluebird from using the Twitter name for its rival social network, while declining to stop the startup from using the “Tweet” mark and Twitter’s former bird logo. The split ruling prompted the company to rename its service Tweet.app and open the platform to early users.
Operation Bluebird had previously launched the service as Twitter.now after arguing that X abandoned several Twitter-related trademarks following Elon Musk’s 2023 rebranding of the platform. The Virginia-based startup is led by founder Michael Peroff and president Stephen Coates, who previously worked as a trademark lawyer at Twitter.
Court Splits Ruling on Former Twitter Trademarks
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly granted X’s request for a preliminary injunction covering eight Twitter-related marks, including the core Twitter name. However, the court’s memorandum opinion found that Operation Bluebird was likely to succeed in showing that X had abandoned the Tweet mark and bird logo.
The judge pointed to X’s discontinuation of those marks and Musk’s statements during the 2023 rebrand as evidence that the company did not intend to resume using them. The ruling is preliminary, and the case will continue before the court determines the parties’ final trademark rights.
Operation Bluebird said it would comply with the restriction on the Twitter name while continuing the case. The company announced on its official status page on September 3 that it had become “TWEET” and was moving the platform to Tweet.app.
Tweet.app Opens With Paid Early Access
Operation Bluebird says more than 172,000 people requested handles before launch. The company is charging $20 for its Founder early-access membership, which includes a reserved handle, founder number and profile badge.
The startup says existing handles, founder numbers and memberships are carrying over unchanged following the rebrand. Its website describes Tweet.app as an independent social network and states that Operation Bluebird is not affiliated with X Corp.
Coates described the ruling as allowing the startup to continue using the Tweet name and bird logo while X retains protection for the Twitter name during the litigation. He argued that the continued public use of the word “tweet” after Twitter became X supported Operation Bluebird’s position in the trademark dispute.
The case, X Corp. v. Operation Bluebird Inc., is proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. TechCrunch reported that the preliminary injunction does not settle whether X ultimately retains rights to all of the disputed former Twitter trademarks.
Featured image credits: twitter.now
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