They made the mistake in the beginning by not slapping a Trademark on the word that has become synonymous with the posting on their site. Now, Twitter will finally have the rights to the word, “Tweet”.
James Eliason, CEO of Twittad, announced in an interview that he would transfer the registered trademark of “Tweet” over to Twitter in exchange for them dropping the lawsuit they filed against his company in September.
“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.
When asked whether or not he received financial compensation, he Eliason cited a confidentiality agreement and declined to answer the question directly. Chances are, he did receive compensation. Having them drop a case after the US Patent and Trademark office twice suspended Twitter’s attempts to trademark the term would likely not be enough to compel the action.
