Elon Musk is now facing yet another lawsuit, this time regarding his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Another Florida-based company which also goes by the singular letter, X Social Media, suing X Corp. for trademark and service mark infringement. This is all due to Musk’s rebrand and for using the letter “X” which occurred during the platform’s rebrand in July.
Last July, Musk rebranded Twitter and replaced the iconic blue bird logo with jsut the letter “X.” It comes as no surprise as Musk has always show nan affinity for the letter. The lawsuit is also not unexpected as trademark attorney Josh Gerben told Reuters and shared on his account that he anticipates Twitter/X will be enthralled in some kind of lawsuit down the line. He predicted that there is “about a 100 percent probability that Twitter/X will be sued by both opportunistic and legitimate plaintiffs over the new name.” Fast forward to today, Gerben’s firm now represents the plaintiff of this case.
In the lawsuit X Social Media described itself as a company that has “offered its advertising and social media services connecting law firms and those in need of advocates since 2016.” Despite the logos looking vastly different, the plaintiff has argued that it “frequently emphasizes the ‘X’ portion of its mark throughout its advertising, blogs, and newsletters highlighting its work.” The Floriday-based social media company is also arguing that the bad press from Musk’s X has caused confusion for their consumers, leading them to believe that their advertising services are associated with or is offered alongside the X Corp. Due to the rebrand, X Social Media has already lost revenue and foresees the confusion causing more “financial detriment.” They have also accused Musk’s company for filing multiple trademark applications for business consulting and information services, promotional services, business data analysis and business, consumer and market research — all of which are comparable to their offerings. They also claim that Musk’s company new about X Social Media and that they had sent a cease-and-desist letter back in August 2023 to X Corp. The plaintiff has asked the court for an injunction to prohibit X Corp. from marketing, offering, selling or distributing services bearing the mark “X” as well as asking for damages equivalent to three times the losses or defendants profits. It remains to be seen whether or not Musk will respond and how the court will rule.
In other tech news, Patreon reveals rebrand and new creator features.
