We didn’t think it was possible, but Elon Musk’s tenure at Twitter took an even stranger turn this week after he rebranded the social media platform to “X” out of the blue. It turns out Musk has been obsessed with naming things after the letter all his career, but it still came as a big surprise that he decided to change the name of an internationally recognised brand overnight to something that sounds more like a porn site or gentleman’s club. The logo is a pretty generic graphic, which replaced the famous blue Twitter bird after Musk crowdsourced ideas from users last weekend. It’s left people with more questions than answers at this point – one of them surrounds the issue of Microsoft and potential disputes over the letter “X” as a trademark. “X” is pretty common in names of companies and organisations and the likes of Meta and Microsoft reportedly have intellectual property rights around the letter “X”. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In fact, as Reuters reports, the likelihood is that Twitter – now "X" – could well face legal action over the name change. "There's a 100 per cent chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody," said trademark attorney Josh Gerben. According to Gerben, there are close to 900 active U.S. trademark registrations surrounding the letter “X”. Microsoft does indeed have an X trademark which it’s held since 2003. However, it’s related to communications about its Xbox video game system. Meta Platforms also owns a trademark for an “X”, which is related to software and social media. According to Gerben, the two companies are unlikely to sue over the Twitter name change unless they believe the move encroaches on their brand equity. Douglas Masters, who is a trademark attorney at law firm Loeb & Loeb, said [via Reuters]: "Given the difficulty in protecting a single letter, especially one as popular commercially as 'X', Twitter's protection is likely to be confined to very similar graphics to their X logo. "The logo does not have much distinctive about it, so the protection will be very narrow." Social media user Keith Edwards posted on the topic by uploading a screen grab of Microsoft’s 2003 patent for “X”, writing: “Microsoft owns the trademark for X. This is just too good.” A community note was added to the post which read: Microsoft only holds this trademark for videogame-related services; this wouldn't affect Twitter. “However, Meta holds the ‘X’ trademark for ‘online social networking services... social networking services in the fields of entertainment, gaming and application development…’” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Netflix has seen its subscriber base grow rapidly – suggesting its crackdown on password sharing has gone even better than expected. The company has launched a range of schemes intended to encourage more people to sign up, amid slumping user numbers. They include a cheaper version of the streaming service with ads, but also a password sharing crackdown that proved controversial among users who characterised it as invasive or mean. It appears to have worked to encourage users to sign up, however. The company said in its latest results that it had added 5.9 million users, almost three times what analysts had expected. Netflix ended June with 238.4 million worldwide subscribers. Investors seemed unsatisfied, perhaps rattled by management commentary in a shareholder letter warning “quite a competitive battle” continuing to unfold against the backdrop of ongoing strikes by both the writers and actors union in the US that is already bogging down much of Hollywood and threatening to clog the pipelines feeding entertainment to streaming services. Netflix's stock price fell 4 per cent in Wednesday's extended trading. The decline also could have reflected some investor locking in profits that have accrued while the shares have climbed by more than 50 per cent so far this year. The second-quarter performance marked Netflix’s biggest spring —- traditionally the company's slowest stretch of growth — since gaining 10 million subscribers during the same period in 2020 under dramatically different market conditions. In 2020, people were still largely stuck at home and looking for ways to keep themselves entertained while governments around the world struggled to find a way to contain the spread of pandemic. Now, Netflix finds itself trying to bounce back from a growth slowdown amid stiff video streaming competition and inflationary pressures that have caused many households to clamp down on spending, especially on discretionary items such as entertainment. As an antidote, Netflix last year introduced a low-priced option that includes commercials and then began to block the rampant sharing of passwords that has enabled an estimated 100 million people worldwide to watch its TV series and films for free. Freeloading viewers are now being required to open their own accounts unless a subscriber with a standard or premium plan agrees to pay an $8 monthly surcharge to allow more people living in different households to watch. In its shareholder letter, management said the crackdown on password sharing is resulting in a “healthy conversion of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships.” And Netflix still isn’t done tinkering. As part of Wednesday’s earnings release, Netflix also revealed it’s phasing out its cheapest ad-free plan – a service that costs $10 in the U.S. Existing subscribers already paying for this basic plan will be allowed to keep it. The shift appears designed to get more people to switch to the $7 monthly plan that includes commercials in hopes of boosting ad revenue or sign up for its $15.50 monthly standard plan or $20 monthly premium plan. “While we’ve made steady progress this year, we have more work to do to reaccelerate our growth,” Netflix management told shareholders in its letter. The pricing changes that have already been made helped Netflix boost its second-quarter revenue by 3% from the same time last year to $8.2 billon, falling below analyst forecasts. Netflix earned $1.49 billion during the period, compared with $1.44 billion last year. But earnings per share came in at $3.29 per share, eclipsing the average analyst estimate of $2.85 per share, according to FactSet. Netflix didn't delve into the potential fallout from the current walkout by in the U.S. by writers and actors. The dispute revolves revolve largely around the payment system used in video streaming and the rise of artificial intelligence technology threatening to exploit the work of humans and eventually replace them. Unlike traditional movie and TV studios in the U.S., Netflix has been able to keep feeding its entertainment pipeline with shows that it has been able to use to keep luring in and retaining subscribers. Additional reporting by AP Read More Stolen ChatGPT accounts for sale on the dark web Geothermal breakthrough uses oil drilling tech to tap renewable energy Solar panel tech breakthrough generates electricity from rain Stolen ChatGPT accounts for sale on the dark web Geothermal breakthrough uses oil drilling tech to tap renewable energy Solar panel tech breakthrough generates electricity from rain

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Bad news for banana lovers – scientists have warned that the fruit could face extinction, after a fungal disease outbreak. Crops of the Cavendish banana have been hit by an infection called Panama disease, with those in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and central America particularly badly affected. The disease, which is also known as banana wilt, starts in the roots of the banana tree and then spreads through its vascular system. Ultimately, it stops the plant from absorbing water or carrying out photosynthesis, eventually killing the tree. For Cavendish banana growers, it could spell disaster. While there are more than 1,000 varieties of bananas, about 47 per cent that humans eat are Cavendish. Cavendish has historically dominated the global banana market since the 1950s, partly because of its resistance to the main banana-killing diseases. It also has a long shelf life, making it more attractive for international import and export, and the plant also produces more bananas than other varieties on the same amount of land. Part of the reason scientists think it could be endangered is because of what happened to another popular banana variety called the Gros Michel. Gros Michel was the main export banana in the early 20th century, but was practically wiped out by a predecessor disease to the one hitting Cavendishes now. The first infections of Gros Michel farms began in the late 19th century and took several decades to affect production to the point where growers were looking for a new variety to sell. Cavendish, meanwhile, was first hit by the current strain of Panama disease in 1997, and it has now spread across several continents. However, scientists are working on a genetically modified version of the banana to fight to infection. James Dale, a professor and leader of the banana biotechnology program at Queensland University of Technology, is working on the project. He told Insider: “The disease moves slowly, so we have at least a decade before the impact is drastic.” “I would say with certainty that there will be a solution before the export market for Cavendish is severely affected.” Let’s hope he’s right. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Chibuike Oguh NEW YORK U.S. investors are awaiting a slew of initial public offerings (IPO) in coming