Twitter is apparently trying to claim ownership of some of the wealth of snark on its platform.
The company recently filed in the United States and Europe to trademark the word "subtweet" — a term that refers to the act of tweeting about someone, usually derisively, without specifically mentioning their handle.
It's the Twitter equivalent of gossiping about someone behind their back.
Normally it's not the kind of behavior to be proud of. But Twitter The paperwork was officially submitted on October 30, just a few weeks after founder Jack Dorsey was named permanent CEO of the company after serving in an interim capacity for months.
It's not clear exactly what business purpose Twitter might be able to put the word towards, but this isn't the first time the social network has tried to lay claim to the lingo that's evolved from its user base.
The company filed to trademark "tweetstorm" earlier this year, and it's also sought to snap up "retweet" and "cotweet" in the past.
A Twitter spokesperson sent Mashable the following statement about the move:
“When you need to protect your namespace from people who would misuse it. #keepingit100.”
Source: Mashable