--- title: "Elon May Have a Huge Issue Because Microsoft Owns the “X” Trademark" description: "There's another big problem with Elon Musk's Twitter rebrand: Microsoft owns the trademark to the title \"X.\" In a word: lol." date: "2023-07-24" modified: "2023-07-25" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-microsoft-x-trademark" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "microsoft" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # Elon May Have a Huge Issue Because Microsoft Owns the “X” Trademark ![There's another big problem with Elon Musk's Twitter rebrand: Microsoft owns the trademark to the title "X." In a word: lol.]() *NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 02: Elon Musk and Maye Musk attend the 2022 Costume Institute Benefit celebrating In America: An Anthology of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images) \Image: Sean Zanni via Getty Images\* *Update: Things are looking even worse for Elon Musk, with it turning out that there are already [hundreds of trademarks for the letter X]().* ## X Wife Elon Musk's [Twitter rebrand]() just got way more complicated. To recap: over the weekend, the billionaire Twitter owner — who, notably, has wanted to own a website called X.com for a [really, really, really long time]() — announced that, after paying [$44 billion]() for the social media app, [firing]() almost everyone who worked there, and rolling out a series of [site infrastructure-destroying]() product changes while subjecting employees to [stinky, janitor-less office buildings](), Twitter was to be rebranded as simply "X." While Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino claims that X will be an [AI-powered everything app](), the site currently looks more or less the same, with a simple logo switch and a [very confused DNS]() looking like the only major changes. And now, to add another layer of confusion to the seemingly shortsighted move, it appears that fellow Silicon Valley behemoth Microsoft actually *owns the trademark* to the letter — meaning that Musk could well face a serious legal struggle in the months or years ahead. "Microsoft owns a trademark for X," [tweeted]() Andres Guadamuz, a faculty member in intellectual property law at the Unversity of Sussex. "So Musk has destroyed a loved and strong brand, for potential years of litigation, and potentially no brand." https://twitter.com/technollama/status/1683519264676880393 ## Billionaire Battles It's also worth noting that Microsoft and Musk don't have a particularly friendly history. After all, the company was founded by [fellow billionaire and rival Bill Gates](), with whom Musk maintains a [meme-driven feud](). Microsoft has also invested mind-boggling amounts of money into OpenAI, the Sam Altman-helmed AI company that [Musk helped found]() back in 2015, only to exit the firm in 2018 on what are [rumored]() to have been not-so-amicable terms. Oh, and Musk also recently [threatened to sue Microsoft](), arguing that OpenAI's AI training practices utilized unlawfully-acquired Twitter data. It *does* seem to be true that Musk owns "X.com," claiming a few years back that he had purchased the domain from PayPal for nostalgia's sake. "Thanks PayPal for allowing me to buy back x.com!" Musk [tweeted]() at the time. "No plans right now, but it has great sentimental value to me." And honestly, Musk's [apparent affection]() for the title [in mind](), we wouldn't be at all terribly surprised to know that the billionaire is aware of Microsoft's patent and more than willing to take the title to court. Besides, if he's made anything clear in the past few weeks, it's that he [loves to challenge]() his deep-pocketed rivals. Who knows, maybe he'll just ask Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to meet him at the [Vegas Octagon]() to settle any future dispute. **More on Twitter's rebrand:** [*X.Com Is Telling People That It's "Parked by Godaddy"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()