Twitpic app dies in days due to trademark row with Twitter.
On Thursday, Twitpic's founder Noah Everett said that the photo-sharing website is shutting down on September 25.
According to Everett, Twitter contacted their legal team demanding that Twitpic abandon its trademark application or risk losing to Twitter's API (application programming interface).
"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. Therefore, we have decided to shut down Twitpic," he added.
Twitpic app allows users to post their pictures on Twitter. In 2011, Twitter introduced its own photo-sharing feature to let users post photos as part of their tweets.
In an emailed statement sent to TIME, a spokesperson for Twitter said that they "encourage developers to build on top of the Twitter service, as Twitpic has done for years." Twitter said they also made it clear that the 6-year-old app could operate using the name Twitpic.
"Of course, we also have to protect our brand, and that includes trademarks tied to the brand," the spokesperson added.
Mashable quoted Everett saying by email after learning Twitter's statement: "Basically Twitter gave us an ultimatum, give up your mark or risk losing your API access which is Twitpic's life blood. We could not in good conscious just give up our rightful ownership to the Twitpic mark when forced to do so even though we don't have the funds to fight it."
TIME also reported that in the coming days, Twitpic will launch a feature to let their users export their photos and videos.
According to Mashable, Everett will focus on Pingly, "a brand new messaging platform", after Twitpic shuts down.
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