Twitter and Des Moines-based Twittad have reached an agreement regarding the trademark of the term “tweet.” Logos from twitter.com and twittad.com.
Tweet it from the rooftops: Twitter and Des Moines-based Twittad have settled their squabble surrounding the trademark of the term “tweet.”
Twittad CEO James Eliason (left, photo from twitter.com) confirmed via email on Monday that his company, a platform for sponsored advertisements on Twitter, has reached an agreement with Twitter over the trademark of “tweet.” Twittad, which previously held the trademark, agreed to transfer it in exchange for Twitter dropping its lawsuit against Twittad over the term. Eliason declined to discuss specifics of the deal, citing a confidentiality agreement between the two companies.
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“We’ve arrived at a resolution with Twittad that recognizes consistent use of Tweet while supporting the continued success of Twitter ecosystem partners like Twittad,” Twitter spokeswoman Lynn Fox said in a statement.
Twittad, which uses the tagline “Let Your Ad Meet Tweets,” successfully filed for the trademark of “tweet” in July of 2008. Twitter then filed a suit against Twittad on Sept. 8, alleging, among other things, that Twittad’s “Let Your Ad Meet Tweets” registration unfairly exploits the widespread association by the consuming public of the mark Tweet with Twitter, and threatens to block Twitter from its registration and legitimate uses of its own mark.”
But now Twittad’s Twitter account — which had been suspended — is back up and running, free to tweet to its heart’s content. And the Wall Street Journal reports Twittad will continue to use the “Let Your Ad Meet Tweets” tagline.
We reached out to Eliason, who also heads up Eliason Media and Nine Blue Labs, regarding next steps for Twittad, and we hope to have an update on the company soon. Stay tuned. In the meantime, here’s more from other outlets on the companies’ settlement:
- Wall Street Journal: “Twitter Will Get ‘Tweet’ Trademark, Settles Lawsuit“
- Mashable: “Twitter Secures ‘Tweet’ Trademark“
- The Next Web: “Twitter to finally gain trademark for the word ‘Tweet’ ”
