Photo-sharing app TwitPic is closing up shop due to a trademark issue with Twitter. Noah Everett started TwitPic in 2008 and had a trademark application filed with the US Patents and Trademark Office. Regardless of that, Twitter still pushed the trademark issue with TwitPic and threatened to strip API access to Twitter. Following that move, Everett decided to just to shutter the app rather than fight it. His statement is after the break.
“We originally filed for our trademark in 2009 and our first use in commerce dates back to February 2008 when we launched. We encountered several hurdles and difficulties in getting our trademark approved even though our first use in commerce predated other applications, but we worked through each challenge and in fact had just recently finished the last one. During the “published for opposition” phase of the trademark is when Twitter reached out to our counsel and implied we could be denied access to their API if we did not give up our mark.
Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to fend off a large company like Twitter to maintain our mark which we believe whole heartedly is rightfully ours. Therefore, we have decided to shut down Twitpic.”
TwitPic will be offering a feature soon before they shut down (September 25th) which will allow users to export any images they have on TwitPic. What do you think of Twitter’s hard stance on this trademark issue? Were you a TwitPic user? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on Google+, Facebook and Twitter. Read Everett’s full statement after the source link.
[button link=”http://thenextdigit.com/11317/twitpic-shutting-trademark-issue-twitter/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: TheNextDigit[/button][button link=”http://blog.twitpic.com/2014/09/twitpic-is-shutting-down/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: TwitPic Blog[/button]Twitpic is shutting down
Posted on September 4, 2014 by Noah
Twitpic will be shutting down September 25th. You will be able to export all your photos and videos. We’ll let everyone know when this feature is live in the next few days.This is an unexpected and hard announcement for us to make and we want to lay out what led us to this decision.
A few weeks ago Twitter contacted our legal demanding that we abandon our trademark application or risk losing access to their API. This came as a shock to us since Twitpic has been around since early 2008, and our trademark application has been in the USPTO since 2009.
Here is some backstory on the history of our trademark:
We originally filed for our trademark in 2009 and our first use in commerce dates back to February 2008 when we launched. We encountered several hurdles and difficulties in getting our trademark approved even though our first use in commerce predated other applications, but we worked through each challenge and in fact had just recently finished the last one. During the “published for opposition” phase of the trademark is when Twitter reached out to our counsel and implied we could be denied access to their API if we did not give up our mark.
Unfortunately we do not have the resources to fend off a large company like Twitter to maintain our mark which we believe whole heartedly is rightfully ours. Therefore, we have decided to shut down Twitpic.
On a personal note I (@noaheverett) want to thank you for letting us be a part of your life and helping you share your experiences over the past 6 years, it’s truly been an honor. I have learned so much through running Twitpic over the years. Through the many mistakes I’ve made and lessons learned, to the bad days and the great days. Thank you again everyone…I will miss and cherish the days of Twitpic we had together.
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
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