Operation Bluebird wants to bring Twitter back to life

Start-up company in Virginia Calling itself “Operation Bluebird,” it announced this week that it had done just that I filed a formal petition With the US Patent and Trademark Office, requesting that the federal agency cancel X Corporation’s trademarks for the words “twitter” and “tweeted” ever since X He allegedly abandoned them.

“The TWITTER and TWEET trademarks have been eliminated from X Corp’s products, services, and marketing, effectively resulting in the abandonment of the storied trademark, with no intention of resuming use of the mark,” the petition said. “The Twitter bird has been grounded.”

If successful, two of the group’s leaders told Ars, Operation Bluebird will launch a social network under the name Twitter.Newperhaps as early as late next year. (Twitter.new has created a working prototype and is already inviting users to reserve their accounts.)

Neither X Corporation nor its owner Elon Musk immediately responded to Ars Technica’s request for comment.

Michael BeroffIn the intervening years, more Twitter-like social networks have emerged or gained traction — such as Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky, said an Illinois attorney and founder of Operation Bluebird. But none have the scale or brand recognition that Twitter had before Musk acquired it.

“There are definitely alternatives,” Beroff said. “I don’t know that any of them at this point in time have reached the level where they would make a difference in the national conversation, whereas the new Twitter really can.”

Likewise, Perov’s business partner, Stephen CoatesThe lawyer, who previously served as Twitter’s general counsel, said Operation Bluebird aims to recreate some of the magic Twitter once had.

“I remember some time ago, I had celebrities interact with my content on Twitter during the Super Bowl or events,” he told Ars. “And we want that experience to come back, to the whole town square, where we all gather there.”

Can it work?

Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022 For 44 billion dollars. He eventually changed the company name and brand identity From Twitter to X. Operation Bluebird says this decision has created an opportunity to officially ditch the Twitter name.

In July 2023, Musk himself chirp “We will bid farewell to the Twitter brand and, gradually, to all the birds.”

That’s when Beroff, a Chicago-area attorney who specializes in trademark and intellectual property law, saw an opportunity to not only claim the Twitter name but also use the iconic pictorial logo that was affectionately referred to internally as “Larry Bird.”