When billionaire Elon Musk changed the name of Twitter to X, the decision drew mixed reactions from investors and users.
The rebranding is also the subject of a new lawsuit.
The name X Corp carries on the tradition of a name and symbol that means a lot to Musk.
The name change came despite several other companies owning trademarks to the X name, symbol and usage, something previously covered by Zenger News.
On Monday, a lawsuit was announced against X Corp for trademark infringement.
“X Corp (Twitter) has been sued for trademark infringement. The lawsuit, filed by X Social Media LLC, asks a Federal Court in Florida to order X Corp to cease using the ‘X’ mark,” trademark attorney Josh Gerben of Gerben Law tweeted.
Gerben is involved in the case against X Corp with X Social Media LLC represented by Gerben Perrott.
“X Social Media LLC is a vanguard in utilizing social media and marketing technology to connect customers with legal services in situations where those harmed would otherwise remain voiceless and without remedy,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit states that X Social Media has used its name and trademarks since as early as 2016. The company was founded in 2015 by Jacob Malherbe, who began using the X letter and logo to “signify the beginning of a life-changing journey towards justice.”
In the lawsuit it is stated that Twitter knew of the trademarks owned by X Social Media prior to launching its media campaign of the Twitter to X rebrand.
“The media coverage and attention generated by the launch has quickly caused reverse confusion and led consumers to believe that X Social Media’s advertising services are being offered by or associated with X Corp.”
The lawsuit uses a search on Google for X Social Media shows the result of X Corp.
X Social Media has suffered a loss of revenue since the rebranding of Twitter, according to the lawsuit.
“X Corp was well aware of its legal duty and chose to pursue its ‘X’ mark agenda over avoiding consumer confusion and harm to X Social Media.”
X Social Media previously attempted to resolve the issue with a cease-and-desist letter in August. Musk refused and the plaintiff in the case is now seeking to have X Corp stripped of the use of “X,” “X Social media” or other confusing marks used.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff is seeking to be awarded three times the amount of damages since the name change or three times the defendant’s profits over the same time, depending on which amount is greater, plus attorney fees.
This marks the first high profile case involving the rebranding to X. According to prior comments from Gerben, it could be the first of many.
“The Twitter rebrand to ‘X’ is the trademark story of the year,” Gerben previously said.
Gerben named Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) as one of the companies that had a trademark on the “X” logo in some cases. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) also was named by Reuters as a company that owns trademarks related to the use of X.
“The Twitter trademark is known (and protected) around the world. To cast aside an asset this valuable in favor of a new trademark is unprecedented in history,” Gerben added.
Gerben put a previous estimate of tens of millions to $100 million for the amount of legal fees and settlement costs Musk and Twitter could be faced with.
Produced in association with Benzinga
