Operation Bluebird has switched on a working Twitter clone at the address twitter.now, complete with the blue bird logo and a tweet button. The move escalates the Twitter trademark lawsuit X Corp. filed in Delaware.

Two trademark attorneys run the Virginia startup, and one of them handled Twitter’s brand portfolio before Elon Musk bought the company. They argue Musk gave up the name in 2023.

Trademark Lawsuit Turns on One 2023 Statement

X Corp. sued Operation Bluebird in Delaware federal court on December 16, 2025, according to the court docket. The case runs on federal trademark infringement, and X has demanded a jury trial.

Bluebird’s case rests on abandonment. Musk said in July 2023 that the platform would bid adieu to the Twitter brand. The startup’s petition to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) treats that as a surrender.

Trademark law does not treat a rebrand as abandonment by itself. A challenger must show the owner stopped using the mark and meant to stop. Courts weigh evidence of continued commercial use.

However, X rejects that reading outright. It also updated its terms in January to restate ownership of the name, the tweet wording, and the bird logo.

“continues to exclusively own the Twitter and Tweet trademarks and the bluebird logo,” X Corp. countersuit filing, via TechCrunch.

Judge Colm Connolly then complicated things in April. He signaled that X may have lost its grip on the tweet and the bird, though no written order has followed.

X still uses the name in places, including its legacy domain and app store listings. That residual use may yet save the mark.

Meanwhile, the trademark board suspended its own cancellation case. Both sides now trade supplemental briefs on a preliminary injunction. Therefore, the Delaware docket decides who owns the bird.

A Second Twitter Arrives as X Chases Payments

The rival site runs replies, retweets, and a trust dial that lets each member filter posts by credibility. A bot called Vera checks claims in real time.

Founders pay $20, and later tiers cost more, so members fund the service instead of advertisers. A footer states the platform is not affiliated with X Corp.

Timing cuts against Musk. X spent this year rebuilding itself around money, and its X Money payments launch reached US Premium subscribers in June.

The company also pushed XChat to No. 1 on the App Store in April. In August, an X product chief exit followed a run of hurried releases.

In contrast, Musk is fighting on several fronts, including a Grok trading bot promise that his own terms appear to cap. Platforms are also spending heavily in court, as the Meta youth-safety trial shows.

X will press its injunction request in Delaware. Still, the sharper question is whether Connolly puts his April doubts in writing, and how quickly a small early base turns into a real audience. The real test, though, is whether users actually switch back.

Source: BeInCrypto