The Google Maps pin is the inverted-drop-shaped icon that marks locations in Google Maps. The pin is protected under a U.S. design patent as "teardrop-shaped marker icon including a shadow". Google has used the pin in various graphics, games, and promotional materials. The pin, sometimes referred to as "the marker", has been widely co-opted by other companies, organizations, and individuals for their own marketing efforts, artwork, and activism. In both digital and physical representations, the pin is often used to symbolize mapping software and the technology industry as a whole.