{"id":23271,"date":"2009-07-15T01:03:38","date_gmt":"2009-07-15T00:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/blog\/?p=23271"},"modified":"2009-07-12T23:38:29","modified_gmt":"2009-07-12T22:38:29","slug":"twitters-trademark-stance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/main\/twitters-trademark-stance\/","title":{"rendered":"Twitter’s Trademark Stance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"twitter_follow_me\"What’s a company like Twitter<\/a> that is built by its open API development model to do when those same developers who support the product and make it easier for millions and millions of people to use use the Twitter name and look in their applications?\u00a0 What if they use the word Tweet?<\/p>\n

This month, Twitter has responded to developers and tech folks who want to know why the company is suddenly playing hard ball about its trademarks — including ones it doesn’t own yet.\u00a0 For example, Twitter only applied for the trademark for the word “tweet” in April 2009, but the company is already telling developers to avoid using it in application names.\u00a0 The company does own the trademark for “Twitter”, and while people are allowed to use the word in application names, etc., Twitter is encouraging people to get more creative with the naming of their own products.\u00a0 The team behind Twitter is also getting a bit tougher about ensuring third-party applications look distinctively different from the actual Twitter interface.<\/p>\n

I think it’s about time that Twitter started to get tougher in protecting its brand trademarks (and acquiring new ones).\u00a0 There is no doubt that those names carry value, and while it’s important that the developer community and the open nature of Twitter be allowed to thrive, there is no reason that the brand names have to be used so freely.\u00a0 Using a tagline such as “for Twitter” or “approved by Twitter” to distinguish between applications Twitter actually endorses vs. those that Twitter does not, would be a great way to help Twitter users differentiate between the best apps and to reward Twitter app partners.\u00a0 Of course, I have no idea if this is something Twitter is interested in getting involved in, but even the simple “for Twitter” tag (rather than using Twitter in the app name) which offers no endorsement at all would work to tell people what the third-party application is for\u00a0without infringing on trademarks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

My point is this, protecting your brand assets is imperative.\u00a0 While the initial buzz over Twitter’s stance on its trademarks was negative (you can read the TechCrunch post here<\/a> and the Twitter blog post here<\/a>), I think Twitter is doing the right thing.\u00a0 What do you think?<\/p>\n

Image: <\/em>Flickr<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What’s a company like Twitter that is built by its open API development model to do when those same developers who support the product and make it easier for millions and millions of people to use use the Twitter name and look in their applications?\u00a0 What if they use the word Tweet? This month, Twitter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[1134,340,110,4911,264,4921],"class_list":{"0":"post-23271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-brand","7":"tag-brand-assets","8":"tag-brand-value","9":"tag-corporate-branding","10":"tag-trademarking","11":"tag-twitter","12":"tag-twitter-trademarks","13":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nTwitter's Trademark Stance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Twitter plays hardball on trademarks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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