Categories
News Technology

Google finally unveils Photovine

Photovine

In June I wrote about Google applying for the trademark on the word Photovine and owning the domain name photovine.com.

Now, in the wee hours of the night, Google has unveiled Photovine.

A reader tipped me off earlier today that the site had a new landing page, and it also looks like they tipped off my friends over at Business Insider and The Next Web who have more on the story.

Here’s some additional information about Google’s newest service offering from the Support page found on the website.

What is Photovine?

Photovine is a community that’s about creating fun and unique collections of photos that we call Vines.

How does Photovine work?

In Photovine, vines connect you with people through the ideas and themes expressed in your photos.

A vine is like a constantly growing family of photos connected through a common caption created by you, your friends, and people all over the world.

Some examples of vines could be: “What Weekends Are Made Of”, “Secret Stuffed Animal”, “Party People”, or, “Love of My Life”.

As people add photos to vines, they tell their own stories about the moments, images, and ideas that define our lives in a way that’s social, creative, and fun.

Start a vine by taking a photo and creating a new caption, or add to an existing vine. Other people will see your vine and join in by adding their own photo, showing their own take on the caption.

What kind of photos can I post?

If you find yourself with a photo that you’re not sure is a good idea to post, it’s probably not. As a rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t want your family to see it, you probably shouldn’t post it.

What about privacy?

We take your privacy seriously. Please read our Privacy Policy to learn more about how we treat the information collected from you while using our app.

Speaking of privacy, remember that the Photovine community is uber public. Anyone can see your photos, even if they’re not following you. Being able to find like-minded strangers and make new friends is part of what makes Photovine so fun and unique.

Categories
News Trademarks

It’s official: Google owns Photovine.com

Google Photovine

Just over a week ago, on June 18, I wrote about Google filing a trademark application for “Photovine” and speculated that the company owned the domain name, photovine.com, after the Whois records switched to MarkMonitor and DNStination from its previous owner.

Now it’s official — Google owns the domain, photovine.com. 

On June 23, the Whois record started showing Google as the owner.

Registrant:
        DNS Admin
        Google Inc.
        1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
         Mountain View CA 94043
        US

    Domain Name: photovine.com

        Registrar Name: Markmonitor.com
        Registrar Whois: whois.markmonitor.com
        Registrar Homepage: http://www. markmonitor.com

 Created on…………..: 2004-10-28.
    Expires on…………..: 2013-10-28.
    Record last updated on..: 2011-06-23.

    Domain servers in listed order:

    gdm1.photovine.com
    gdm0.photovine.com

You might also notice that the domain has its own nameservers, right now though, no other domain names are located there.

Google has not officially announced anything about Photovine, however there has been a lot of online discussion about what the service may be, based on the trademark application.

As of today, a message on the website simply reads: Nothing to see here, move along.

Discussion: The Next Web

Categories
News Technology Trademarks

Google set to launch Photovine? It applied for the trademark, now it owns the matching domain name

 Google logo

Google applied for a trademark on “Photovine” on June 7 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

As of June 14, it appears Google owns photovine.com.  The company appears to have taken ownership of the domain name from Matthew Gibson, who had previously owned the name since January 2010 according to WHOIS records.

Although it doesn’t say on the WHOIS records that Google owns the domain, Google like many large companies uses MarkMonitor and DNStination, privacy and brand protection services.

Registrant:
        Domain Administrator
        DNStination Inc.
        303 Second Street Suite 800N
         San Francisco CA 94107

Domain Name: photovine.com

        Registrar Name: Markmonitor.com
        Registrar Whois: whois.markmonitor.com
        
Created on…………..: 2004-10-28.
    Expires on…………..: 2013-10-28.
    Record last updated on..: 2011-06-13.

I had reached out yesterday to Matthew Gibson (the previous owner) for a statement and to learn more about the negotiations, but I haven’t heard anything at the time of this story.

So what exactly is Photovine? 

Very little is known at this time, outside of the trademark  application the company filed earlier this month.  In 2004, Google acquired Picasa, a photo software and sharing service. 

But is Google planning to take on Apple’s iCloud Photo Stream service?

Here’s a look at the trademark filing:

Word Mark  PHOTOVINE
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Computer software
IC 038. US 100 101 104. G & S: Communication services, namely, transmission of visual images and data by telecommunications networks, wireless communication networks, the Internet, information services networks and data networks

IC 042. US 100 101. G & S: Non-downloadable computer software

IC 045. US 100 101. G & S: On-line social networking services
 
Standard Characters Claimed 
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 85340503
Filing Date June 7, 2011
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) Google Inc. CORPORATION DELAWARE 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View CALIFORNIA 94043
Attorney of Record Andrew Abrams
Type of Mark TRADEMARK. SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Discussion:  Engadget, TechMeme, Digital Trends, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Business Insider, The Next Web and Techie Buzz.