Tinder fights one-man dating platform

Tinder has filed a legal objection to a dating platform created by a British man on which he is the only male date.

Shed Simove called the app Shinder and said he built it to find himself a partner.

However, when he tried to trademark it, a Notice of Threatened Opposition was filed to the Intellectual Property Office by dating giant Tinder.

He also received a letter from lawyers representing the elevator firm Schindler.

Schindler asked him to commit to refraining from entering the elevator or escalator market.

Both firms were contacted by the BBC for comment. Tinder said it was aware of the situation.

Its filing means that it could formally oppose the trademark at a later date.

Mr Simove said that while he had no interest in the elevator industry he didn't believe he was a threat to Tinder either.

"I think it's a case of a big corporate giant looking at an entrepreneur who sees the world differently and being punitive," he said.

"It's unlikely that the female population will stop using Tinder and start using Shinder."

The Shinder platform invites people to register via Facebook, and after a few questions, decides whether the potential date is a match with Shed Simove.

Mr Simove, a serial inventor and speaker, said he had received 150 matches and been on three dates.

However, he also said he had heard from others who wanted to create a similar platform for themselves which was why he decided to trademark it.

"I think there might be commercial possibilities for it," he said.

"I have to keep my eye on that. If it was 'white label ' - that would mean if I chose to I could take the raw guts of the code and allow people to have their own versions. Jane could have Jinder, and so on."

He added that he had not decided whether he would be able to fund a court case.

In 2016, Tinder, which is owned by Match Group, sued UK platform 3nder (pronounced Thrinder) - an app for non-monogamous couples - for copyright infringement because of its name.