One of the biggest social media sites in the world, Pinterest, says that an influencer who claims to have helped invent the site has no claim to fame. And now, they are asking for the courts to throw out her lawsuit! Read on to find out…
A Lawsuit Against Pinterest
If you spend any time on the popular website Pinterest, you probably know the name Christine Martinez, seen above. After all, she’s been one of the biggest, most prominent influencers on the site for many years! However, it seems that the honeymoon phase has come to an end. In September, Martinez filed a lawsuit against Pinterest, alleging idea theft, unfair business practices, and breach of implied contract, among many others.
According to Martinez’s suit, she helped the company’s founders, Paul Sciarra and Ben Silbermann, created the site in 2009. Back then, Sciarra and Silbermann were trying to turn the site from a shopping app into a social media site – that’s documented history. What’s up for some debate is whether Martinez helped or not. In the influencer’s suit, she alleges that she contributed many critical ideas to the creation of Pinterest, including adding ways to attract more women to the platform and the concept of “pinboards.”
Today, Silbermann remains Pinterest’s CEO and, after Pinterest went public three years ago, its stock has continued to soar – it’s now worth more than $1 billion. So, what’s going to happen with Martinez’s lawsuit? Well, it doesn’t look good for the influencer…
Company Responds To The Influencer
In a statement, Pinterest’s lawyers called the lawsuit a “sham,” also saying that she missed the legal deadline to file by more than five years. “Plaintiff says she created Pinterest at its inception in 2009, but then waited more than a decade to file suit in September 2021, long after Pinterest found widely publicized success,” Pinterest’s lawyers explained. The social media site also said that Martinez failed to prove that she helped create the site.
Of course, it remains unclear why Martinez waited more than a decade to file her lawsuit. And the evidence doesn’t look for the influencer. According to interviews, most former and current employees at Pinterest have said on record that they have no recollection of her working there, nor is she described in any of the company’s news coverage over the years. Worst of all, in Martinez’s own book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pinterest Marketing, she only describes herself as an “early adopter” of the site.
Only time will tell what the courts think of Martinez’s suit – but the internet will undoubtedly be keeping an eye on it!