Twicpic will shut down Sept. 25 following a trademark dispute with Twitter, the company announced on Thursday.
“A few weeks ago Twitter contacted our legal demanding that we abandon our trademark application or risk losing access to their API,” the company posted on its official blog. “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.”
The company said they filed for the Twitpic trademark in 2009. The company “encountered several hurdles and difficulties” along the way, but Twitter eventually reached out and said the company would be denied access to the Twitter API if they did not give up the trademark.
“Unfortunately we do not have the resources to fend off a large company like Twitter to maintain our mark which we believe wholeheartedly is rightfully ours,” the company said on Thursday. “Therefore, we have decided to shut down Twitpic.”
In a statement to CNBC, Twitter said, “We’re sad to see Twitpic is shutting down. We encourage developers to build on top of the Twitter service, as Twitpic has done for years, and we made it clear that they could operate using the Twitpic name. Of course, we also have to protect our brand, and that includes trademarks tied to the brand.”
