TikTok influencer discovers someone else copyrighted her viral phrase
HOUSTON - One of the latest social media trends is turning sour for the influencer who's responsible for it. There's no way to tell when such viral moments will strike, and there's a narrow window when people may buy into it.
This latest episode may be a difficult and expensive lesson. When TikTok influencer Jools LeBron popularized the viral phrase "Very Demure, Very Mindful" with a post that's been seen more than 114 million times over the last several weeks, it struck a nerve all over social media.
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The words have been repeated by some of the most unlikely sources, including stars and politicians. As posters jumped onto the bandwagon, selling that message seemed like potential financial gold.
But, while LeBron was making plans to capitalize on the notoriety, a Washington-state man copyrighted the phrase first, seemingly locking her out any possible payday.
"I just invested so much time and money into this, and I feel like I did it wrong and didn't try hard enough," she tearfully said in a subsequent post.
Copyright and patent expert John Rizvi says trademarks and copyrights are made for these brief social moments, as much as they are for long-established brands.
"It might be a flash in the pan, but that doesn't mean there isn't an incredible amount of money to be made during their so-called 15 minutes."
He says it's about staking a claim to something of value that can be protected by that legal designation.
"Who knows how much longevity it has, but you need to file," says Rizvi. "You need to file for that trademark. If you believe that you have something that's commercially viable, that's catching on, and that people are going to associate with you, then you need to go ahead and protect that."
Filing for a trademark is not an automatic process. There's some subjective consideration to determine whether the request is valid.
Rizvi believes there's a strong argument for Jools LeBron to fight and win a challenge that would let her capitalize on her famous phrase.