Tweeting used to be for the birds, but the term has taken on a whole new meaning with the explosion in popularity of Twitter, an online service that allows users to blog via 140-character “tweets.”
But efforts by Twitter to trademark the word “tweet” have suffered a major setback after U.S. officials said others might have beaten the microblogging pioneer to the punch.
The founders of the company filed a request with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last month in order to claim ownership of the word, but the application was initially denied because so many others had already filed similar requests. The office cited earlier applications by firms called TweetMarks, Cotweet and Tweetphoto, and said there was a “likelihood of confusion” if Twitter's claim was approved along with the others. However, the door has been left open for Twitter to present new arguments against any potential conflict.
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone wrote in a blog post last month that the company was seeking the trademark to protect against “confusing and potentially damaging projects” that could also use the word “tweet.” However he also said there are also “lots of really awesome services and applications out there like TweetDeck, TweetMeme, Tweetie, BackTweets, Tweetboard, and others that we absolutely love, as do many users.” He added that Twitter has no intention of “going after” such applications and services.
The word “tweet” has gained currency since Twitter launched in 2006. The Collins English dictionary has announced the word will be listed as both a noun and a verb in the 30th anniversary edition to be published later this year. The entry under noun will read: “a website where people can post short messages about their current activities” and under verb it will read: “to write short messages on the Twitter website.” The Associated Press also recently added “To tweet” to its styleguide as a verb.
