X, formerly known as Twitter, has been sued under its X Corp title by a Florida-based legal marketing company that claims that the platform’s rebrand infringes its trademark.
The lawsuit filed by X Social Media yesterday (October 2) alleges that X owner Elon Musk‘s decision over the summer to change Twitter’s name to X has caused consumer confusion, particularly over the use of the letter “X” in its brand design.
In legal documents seen and shared by Reuters this week, representatives of the Florida-based firm X Social Media claim that the title “X Social Media” is owned by the company under a trademark and has been operating under that name since 2016.
X Social Media, which says in the suit that it’s “a vanguard in utilising social media and marketing technology to connect consumers with legal services in situations where those harmed would otherwise remain voiceless and without remedy,” claims that it’s invested more than $400million in Facebook advertising to reach potential clients.
It alleges that Twitter’s rebrand has caused it to lose revenue. “In a short time, X Corp has wielded its social media clout, marketing resources, and overall national notoriety to dominate consumer perception of its ‘X’ mark,” the lawsuit reads.
X Social Media is asking the court to force Musk’s company to stop using the “X” name and requested an unspecified amount of monetary damages.
In August, X Corp applied for its own US trademarks covering the letter, Reuters adds. The case may herald the first of numerous trademark disputes with Musk’s company over the letter “X”, which is used widely in tech branding.
X Corp did not immediately respond to Reuters‘ request for comment about the complaint. X Social Media declined to comment.
Meanwhile, last month Musk said that X will likely start charging its users.
The X owner, who is also the founder/CEO of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, said in a meeting that the social media platform is considering enacting a paywall.
Although unconfirmed, Musk told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting this week that a subscription would probably cost “a few dollars” a month for users [via The Guardian].
Currently, X charges users for its subscription service X Premium that offers advantages such as a verified account checkmark. It costs $11 (£8.87) per month in the US for iPhones and £11 per month in the UK.
Musk explained that a paywall would help the business keep bots at bay and generate money lost by “60 per cent” drop in advertising revenue on the platform.