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ARTICLE · 08 APRIL 2014

Genericness And Priority Are Not Suitable Issues For Resolution On A Motion To Dismiss

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

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In October 2013, social media giant Pinterest filed suit against travel planning startup Pintrips for trademark infringement and dilution.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
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In October 2013, social media giant Pinterest filed suit against travel planning startup Pintrips for trademark infringement and dilution alleging confusing similarity both in the parties' names and in the PIN IT versus PIN buttons utilized by their respective websites.

Social media heavyweight Pinterest provides an online platform whereby users can post images and other content to various themed "bulletin boards" associated with the user's account. User posts are identified as "pins" whereas the act of posting is known as "pinning." According to Pinterest, its popular "Pin It" button, a critical part of the site's functionality used to facilitate user participation with the Pinterest service, as well as an important advertising tool, is currently featured on hundreds of thousands of third party websites. Pintrips is a travel planning service that allows users to collaboratively plan flights and travel plans using its PIN button.

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