Woman not allowed to use Disney Twitter name

by Leah Zanolla
May 21, 2010

Cheri Thomas, a Disney fan, joined Twitter when it first started. She was lucky enough to acquire the Twitter name "@Disney", since no one else had taken it yet. Last week, Twitter took the username away from Cheri.

When she questioned the decision, she was told that in the rules, it states, "Impersonation: You may not impersonate others through the Twitter service in a manner that does or is intended to mislead, confuse or deceive others." It also says, "Trademark: We reserve the right to reclaim user names on behalf of businesses or individuals that hold legal claim or trademark on those user names. Accounts using business names and/or logos to mislead others will be permanently suspended."

The interesting thing is that Cheri wasn't using Twitter to impersonate Disney. She used her own name on the account and didn't pretend to be Disney or a Disney employee. What she did was get the username before Disney did. It remains to be seen if Disney will take over the "@Disney" name or just keep Cheri from using it.

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• Last Updated: Feb 8, 2012 - 9:40:38 AM