Although “tweet” is a word attached to Twitter and, although the social network introduced it, it does not necessarily mean that it is theirs. This transcribes to “Twitter might not even have the means to trademark it”. Moreover, this is exactly what happened on July 1st. Twitter applied to trademark “tweet” on April 16 and, on July 1st, the Patent Office preliminary denied it. Tough blow, Tweeter!

Tweeter wants to use the tweet “through the applicant’s related company or licensee the mark in commerce on or in connection with the identified goods and/or services.” Although this might sound like a standard application that has all the chances to be approved once reviewed, things are a lot different in reality. The major problem is that three other companies have applied for trademarks that contain “tweet”. These companies are TweetMarks, Cotweet, and Tweetphoto.

The Patent Office send Twitter an email on July 1st, in which it stated that “marks in prior-filed pending applications may present a bar to registration of applicant’s mark” and that the tweet mark “may be refused registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d) because of a likelihood of confusion between the two marks.”

Whatever the problem, one thing is certain: Twitter has not been able to trademark “tweet” and it is very unlikely it will ever be able to do so. Besides, one can’t win all the battles!