You don’t own a brand forever. You can lose it.

This explosive affair reminds us of an essential rule:

"Twitter is major brand equity.

It's a colossal intangible asset: worldwide notoriety, cultural reflex, economic value, etc.
All condensed into a single word: the brand name.

It's this brand equity that each of X and Bluebird seeks to capture.

In American law, abandonment implies non-use and an intention not to resume use.

(Lanham Act)

X is seeking to demonstrate the opposite: continued use of its Twitter brand, or at the very least, legal continuity based on the persistence of goodwill.

The concept of goodwill :

"Twitter is not dead

Although X has changed its name, his thesis is that Twitter continues to exist as a brand if the public still associates this name with the platform.

This is the notion of goodwill.

If "Twitter" remains identified with X in thepublic mind, then the trademark is not abandoned, so a third party who positions itself there - hello Operation Bluebird - is capitalizing on a pre-existing reputation, which is not legally tolerated.

The fact that there are redirections from twitter.com to X.com works in X's favor: for them, Internet users always associate twitter with X.

What about you?

Two battle fronts

• The TTAB / USPTO: an "administrative" battle over the validity of rights, with the question ofabandonment at its heart.

• Before the federal court: a more offensive approach from X, based onBluebird's alleged parasitic appropriation. → The central idea: you can't "recreate Twitter" by capturing its fame.

Possible outcomes

Victory for X:

no abandonment recognized → "Twitter" registrations remain valid and enforceable, and X can block any third party on the grounds of risk of confusion and goodwill capture.

Operation Bluebird wins:

abandonment recognized → extinction of X's rights to all or part of the classes → "Twitter" becomes available again → Bluebird acquires its own rights through its TWITTER trademark registration and use.

What to remember?

You can't own a brand forever:

it can be maintained.

Poorly secured rebranding can weaken rights, open up opportunistic loopholes and expose you to recuperation attempts.

Proof of use, portfolio strategy and legal foresight are the keys to preventing an iconic name from slipping through your fingers.