‘Hot Girls Read’ Trademark Sparks Intense BookTok Controversy
Key takeaways
- She then said she was aware of other small businesses selling merchandise in those categories that featured the saying, and asked they “please remove those listings from ur site as soon as possible 💛with love !!!!”
- The anger led to the creation of a GoFundMe by fantasy author Michele Khalil, who raised $2,000 to formally petition Mitrovich’s trademark be revoked.
- In a video announcing she’ll abandon the trademark Monday afternoon, Mitrovich said she was “so sorry to every small business that I harmed in doing this.”
Topline. A small business owner who was the target of a vicious online campaign after she successfully trademarked the phrase “Hot Girls Read” has said she’ll abandon the trademark in an attempt to “right my wrongs” after she was slammed for trying to monetize a community-created slogan used by dozens of other businesses.
A person positions books ahead of the Turin International Book Fair. Light Rocket via Getty Images Key Facts Allie Mitrovich, who founded Allie Rose Co. in 2020 selling book-related merchandise, posted on her shop’s Instagram account last week that she’d successfully trademarked the phrase “Hot Girls Read” in the categories of bookmarks, stickers, notebooks, notepads, sweatshirts and t-shirts.
She then said she was aware of other small businesses selling merchandise in those categories that featured the saying, and asked they “please remove those listings from ur site as soon as possible 💛with love !!!!”