Internet & Social Media Law Blog
In a recent federal district court case in the Northern District of California (Case No. 13-cv-04608-HSG), Pintrips Inc., a website-based travel planning service, effectively pinned to the mat the trademark claims brought against it by Pinterest Inc., the operator of the popular image-sharing website. Following a bench trial, the Court rejected Pinterest’s claims of trademark infringement and dilution, as well as other related state and federal causes of action, which were based on Pinterest’s rights to its “Pinterest,” “Pin” and “Pin It” word marks. The case is of interest to industry observers and participants alike for a number of reasons. In the course of providing practical insight into the judicial thought processes at play in a point-by-point application of the eight “Sleekcraft” factors (from the 9th Circuit’s 1979 decision in AMF Inc. vs Sleekcraft Boats) that can be considered when determining if a mark has been infringed, the case also yielded some insight on the impact of timing in regard to a defendant’s knowledge of the plaintiff’s mark; the potential of making a consumer jump through some hoops; and on the very nature of a “social media service.”