Pinterest Files Lawsuit Over Alleged Domain Squatter

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Pinterest Files Lawsuit Over Alleged Domain Squatter

engine

5:52 pm on Sep 7, 2012 (gmt 0)

Pinterest Files Lawsuit Over Alleged Domain Squatter [news.cnet.com]

The social network filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco last week against Qian Jin, who is from Nanjing, China. Pinterest claimed that Jin partook in cyberpiracy, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and more. According to the complaint, Jin has snatched dozens of domain names that are strikingly similar to pinterest.com, including pintesrest.com and pinterest.es.

"This action arises from Defendant's bad-faith registration and use of numerous domain names containing, or confusingly similar to, Pinterest's famous and federally registered PINTEREST trademark," the court filing states. "Defendant has no affiliation with Pinterest but has nevertheless branded his websites, and has filed baseless trademark applications, to take unlawful advantage of Pinterest's extraordinary popularity."

[edited by: engine at 11:32 am (utc) on Sep 8, 2012]

Leosghost

6:06 pm on Sep 7, 2012 (gmt 0)

I don't think pinterest are going to, nor should they win this, they are claiming "common usage rights*" over generic words whose use to indicate pinning to a screen predate the existence of pinterest....I have software that did that in 1998..some of it actually called pinboard..and using "virtual " graphic image "pins"..

And the irony of what is currently the worlds largest crowd sourced copyright and IP abuser calling the kettle "black" over trademark and IP infringement is immense..even if the respondent does have form..

*only in the USA..could a corp try to fly that one..

lucy24

7:55 pm on Sep 7, 2012 (gmt 0)

Yah, who do they think they are-- McDonald's?

helleborine

5:29 pm on Sep 10, 2012 (gmt 0)

I can't think of a more deserving copyright infringement "victim" than Pinterest.

I'm rooting for the Chinese guy. Let Pinterest pay him a few million for these domains, if they want them so badly. It might set them back a few steps.