Pinterest is a website and mobile app that has become quite popular during the last few months. Pinterest is a tool for sharing and collecting content online, a “virtual pinboard.”
Pinterest is a great name! Fun to say. Suggestive — “pin” and “interest” combined. The name it is unique, it sounds exciting and interesting. In short, I think it is an A+ name.
But one thing is missing. The mark is not registered with the USPTO. Cold Brew Labs, Inc., the owner of Pinterest, filed for trademark registration in March of 2011. But after a review by the USPTO and initial Office Action – in which no conflicts were found – no response was filed by the applicant and the application was abandoned on December 30, 2011. [Note that under some circumstances an abandoned application can be revived within 2 months.] The only thing standing between Pinterest and approval of its trademark application by the USPTO was the submission proper evidence of use.
Pinterest is a great and creative name. To date, it appears the trademark protection for it has been mismanaged. Twitter went through its own share of trademark problems, issues, and expenses after it failed to protect its brand names early on in its success. Will Pinterest have to learn the same lesson the same hard way that Twitter did?
