Pinterest’s “Pin” was Never its Invention in the First Place

It seems that social media giant Pinterest didn’t get its language lessons right which makes them think that the use of ‘Pin’ as a verb was “invented” by them! Pinterest has already lost a couple of battles regarding this but this has not stopped them from locking horns with other companies over the use of the word. In spite of everything, Pinterest is still determined to win the war. As per a U.S. judge, the usage of the terms “pin” and “pinning” by Pintrips, a startup, was legal and within rights. In a similar case in the U.K., Free118 also won its bid to use the phrase “pinmydeal” for one of its function. “Pinterest cannot prohibit other companies from using the word pin to describe that well-known operation, which is exactly how the evidence demonstrates that Pintrips uses the word pin here,” according to the court ruling in the U.S. However, in its profound urge to obtain any sort of patent pertaining to the use of any form of the word “pin”, Pinterest continues to pursue companies across U.S and Europe. Even Pinterest’s guidelines appear to discourage people from using the word “pin” in any form: If you’re creating an app, website or other service designed to be used with Pinterest, give it a distinctive name. It’s fine to say the product is for use with Pinterest as long as you pick a distinct brand for your product. Don’t use ‘pin’ or ‘Pinterest’ in the name. Don’t register a domain name containing ‘pin,’ ‘pinterest’ or any misspellings, transliterations or similar variations on Pinterest. Of course, people can’t be stopped from using the word, and even though the fight over patent has lasted nearly two years, Pinterest hasn’t issued an official statement regarding this.