X is not that an uncommon name and yet Elon Musk rebranded Twitter and named it X. Now, a social media company, which goes bythe name X, has decided to sue X, formerly known as Twitter. According to a report by The Verge, X, which is a Florida-based social media company has alleged loss in revenue ever since Twitter became X.
The social media company — not Twitter’s parent X Corp. — said that since 2016 it has made a significant investment in creating “a distinctive X mark successfully associated with social media advertising services”.
The name creates confusion
The complaint also alleges that X Corp. is engaging in unfair competition by using its dominant market position to bully smaller competitors. X Social Media claims that it has lost clients who were confused about the two companies and mistakenly thought that X Social Media was affiliated with X Corp.
X Corp. has not yet commented on the lawsuit. However, the lawsuit raises interesting questions about trademark law and the potential for confusion when two companies use similar names.
In general, trademark law in the US is designed to protect consumers from confusion and to prevent businesses from profiting from the goodwill of another company’s brand. However, there is no bright-line rule for determining whether a trademark has been infringed. Courts will perhaps consider a number of factors, including the similarity of the marks, the goods and services offered by the two companies, and the likelihood of confusion among consumers.
X Social Media wants Elon Musk’s company to refrain from using the X brand name. Since Musk wants it to be an “everything app”, the company is alleging it creates further confusion. It also cited a simple Google Search about X social media and it throws up Elon Musk’s X as the first result.
It’s not clear whether the court will hear the case or what Musk’s company plans to do.