Twitter has officially filed the paperwork to trademark the term "subtweet," which, in a meta twist, Twitter users have already started tweeting about.
According to the document, the term subtweet — defined as the act of tweeting about someone without tagging their username handle, effectively talking behind their back online — would subsequently authorize exclusive commercial use to the social media platform if the site's request is approved.
wow some people are just so passionate about the precise definition of "subtweet"
— Danya Lagos (@DanyaLagos) December 2, 2015
The suit, which also includes the word variation "sub tweet," is somewhat unique in the sense that there is no documentation that certifies the term came from within the company. Injected into the public social media discourse roughly around 2013, the term seems to have popped up organically from Twitter users rather than the company itself.
Not gonna mention any names, but don't you hate it when corporations try to trademark terms they didn't invent? #subtweet
— Ben Jensen (@theSqurrl) December 4, 2015
Twitter has filed a trademark for the term "subtweet." pic.twitter.com/ivE9hLDm2R
— Alex Weprin (@alexweprin) December 4, 2015
Shortly after Twitter's Jack Dorsey took over as CEO, the company applied for the trademark on Oct. 30, but their intentions did not become public until December.
As for the impetus for the trademark application?
"When you need to protect your namespace from people who would misuse it. #keepingit," said Twitter in an interview with the Verge.
Via: Tech Crunch
Photo: Howard Lake | Flickr
