Woman Loses @Disney Twitter Account

The moral of this story can be summed up like this: the early bird doesn't necessarily get the twitter name of her choice. Cheri Thomas was one of the earliest uses to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. She was surprised and delighted to realize that the account for "@Disney" was still available. She's been using that account ever since...until last week, when her account was taken away. Why? Here are a few rules that Twitter has referred to in this case:

• Impersonation: You may not impersonate others through the Twitter service in a manner that does or is intended to mislead, confuse, or deceive others.


• 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.

Now, while there's really no argument that Cheri was impersonating Disney (she claims she is just a fan and thought the handle would be fun, and her tweets were in no way misleading or claiming to be affiliated with Disney), certainly this created confusion for some folks. If I saw a tweet from "@Disney," I would expect it to be something official. And the more pressing issue here is trademark. Although the Disney Company now has multiple other Twitter accounts in use, and really doesn't have a need for Cheri's additional account, it's still a matter of preserving and protecting their trademark and brand.

I know some fans may feel differently, but I have to go with Twitter in siding with Disney on this one. Perhaps if she had chosen "@Disneyfan" or "@Disneylover" or even "@Disneyfreak," I would feel differently. I trust Cheri will find a fitting handle that incorporates her love of Disney from a fan's perspective.

I don't Tweet, but I do have a Facebook fan page--won't you join me there? Click on the sidebar. Still, I think I'll log on to Twitter just to see if "@AffordingtheMou$e" is still available!