Ping Is Hit With A Golf Ball Delaying Its Launch
October 11, 2013
Back in September, we told you about an interesting new app that promised to turn regular emails into ongoing streams, like chat. Ping, as it was called, was set to launch weeks ago. Unfortunately, legal issues have stopped the app from going live, according to PandoDaily.
Karsten Manufacturing Corporation is suing the folks behind the Ping app, claiming trademark infringement. They own PING, a brand of premium golf equipment, and the trademark that goes with it.
In a letter to the makers of the Ping app, Karsten explains that it owns the “ping” trademark for everything from “chat room services for social networking” to “computer software for authoring, downloading, transmitting, receiving, viewing, playing, storing, and organizing multimedia content.”
As a result, they have asked that those behind the Ping app “remove any and all online references” to the product, “including but not limited to references on webpages located through Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media as well as Google and other online search engines.”
Instead of fighting Karsten in court, Ping's creators plan on changing the app’s name. When that happens, they’ll resubmit it to the App Store for release.
According to PandoDaily, more than 40,000 people have asked to be notified when the app formerly known as Ping launches. Hopefully, that email will be going out very soon.
I could never wrap myself around the "ping" name when I first covered the app. This had nothing to do with golf clubs. Rather, I was surprised a developer would use a name that had already proven to be a failure in technology circles. As you may recall, from 2010 until 2012, Apple ran the unsuccessful iTunes Ping music social network.
For more information on the Ping app, take a look at our original article. In addition, check out this promotional video:
http://vimeo.com/73528012
We’ll let you know when the app is finally released.
