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Someone else trademarked Jools Lebron's 'demure' tagline & we're ready to fight
Thankfully, Jools Lebron seems to have a good case to challenge the trademark — here's what we know.
This is not demure at all.
Trans TikToker Jools Lebron has hit a hurdle in her success from the viral "demure" trend, and it's thanks to someone named Jefferson Bates in Washington state.
Lebron has been the most famous trans girlies spreading the "demure" trend, with her TikToks explaining the trend and sharing it reaching tens of millions of hits. She's already gotten sponsorships, business deals, and collaborations, and she seemed to be well on her way to finding material success from her viral fame.
Now, there's a barrier to one of the main ways she was expected to profit off her work.
According to TMZ, someone named Jefferson Bates who lives in Washington state filed for a trademark, potentially blocking Lebron. Lebron lives in Chicago.
Over the weekend, Lebron posted a tearful video explaining that she tried to file a trademark for the phrase "very demure" so that she could make merch and "do so much for my family and provide for my transition" but someone else filed first.
"And I just feel like I dropped the ball. Like I feel like I fucked up and someone else has it now," she said. "And I don't know what I could've done better, cause like, I didn't have the resources." She later deleted the video.
@joolieannie #fyp #demure
At the end of the weekend, Lebron updated again with a video titled "How I come out of a weekend depression in a demure manner."
"I don't do 'let's make a lot of posts.' I do very simple. I cry in front of four million people, I wake up from a three day nap, I have a good cookie, I do a little water. I have my little zhuzh, I watch my little YouTubes, and I come back," she said.
"I don't let it keep me down for 4-5-6-7 months at a time. Only three days. Only a little bit," she said.
Hope isn't lost though. According to writer and Public Relationship specialist Tenille Clarke, Lebron has a strong case to challenge the trademark.
"Trademarks are often granted on 'first used' and not 'first filled," she wrote. "Jools can challenge this filing and WIN, and I hope a lawyer takes this case on for free. She deserves the rewards of this trend!"
"There are a number of variables for consideration beyond who filed first that the Intellectual Property Office would have to consider - such as who digitally popularized the term," she continued. "Lot's of what-ifs, but naturally the first step would be to legally claim/object. That's the law."
Hopefully, Lebron has seen this advice and knows what steps she can take next. She deserves her flowers!
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
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