Proactive Investors - Elon Musk's rebranding of Twitter to X may encounter significant legal hurdles due to the difficulty in protecting a single letter and because many other large companies have rights associated with it.
Social media rival Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB), for example, which recently launched a Twitter rival called Threads, as well as Instagram, Facebook (NASDAQ:META) and WhatsApp, owns a 2019 trademark for a blue-and-white letter 'X' covering software and social media.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) also has existing intellectual property rights associated with the letter, notably around its X-box gaming console.
The ubiquity of 'X' in current trademarks could expose the newly rebranded company to potential lawsuits and complications in safeguarding its own brand, Reuters reported.
IP experts cited by the news agency estimated there are around 900 active US trademarks that already incorporate 'X' and there is "a 100% chance that Twitter is going to get sued".
Legal action from these companies may be launched if they perceive Musk's X as a threat to their established brand value.
If Musk's rebranding does take off it might not prevent other companies from staking claim to 'X'.
Based on settled case law, trademarks consisting of a single letter benefit from a low degree of protection and the US Court of Appeal in 2019 ruled against the US Patent Office's argument that adding ".com" to a generic term does not create a protectable trademark.