Short of writing the initial news post that I did at Parade Magazine, I didn’t really delve into the bookish community about the “Hot Girls Read” trademark controversy.
I don’t really know much about trademark and copyright law, except for the basics, and I didn’t want to put my foot in it. But there was something that stood out as I looked into the trademark filing and comments made by Allie Rose Co. That’s the part I can’t stay silent on.
Allie Rose Co. Has Contradicted Herself
There’s a chance that Allie Rose Co. lied on the trademark filing, and that is something I think should be investigated. The filing says that she started using the “Hot Girls Read” phrase on Jan. 14, 2021. However, she said in her own post that she started getting into books again and used the phrase from 2023.
So, which is it?
Did she lie about the 2021 date on the filing, knowing that it wouldn’t have been approved had she admitted that she used it two years after other people had, or is she lying about when she got into reading?
We all know that the “Hot Girls Read” phrase was used on bookmarks, sweaters, notebooks, and much more well before 2023. Plenty of people in the bookish community have seen it used since 2021. There are even podcasts that have used it since 2022, and we can’t forget that Megan Thee Stallion really helped to coin the phrase with her “Hot Girl Summer” track in 2019.
The problem is that by potentially lying about when she started using the phrase, it creates issues for all those selling products. Under normal circumstances, I don’t think a trademark can be enforced from before the date a person claims to have started using the phrase. That would usually mean that businesses using it in 2021 and 2022 couldn’t have been affected, since in her Instagram, she claims 2023 was when she started making the merch.
By putting the 2021 date on the trademark filing, she captures those who came before her. And this is the part that is totally unethical.
Oh, and the phrase has been on social media for much longer!
I Have No Skin In This Game
I’m not even writing this for my own personal gain. I don’t sell products — maybe I will in the future, but I don’t right now — and I’ve never actually bought anything with the “Hot Girls Read” phrasing on it. It’s not like it would even affect me in Canada, as the trademark is only for the U.S. use of it, and I’m intrigued at whether she will try to push it internationally after the backlash she’s received.
I just don’t like liars, and I don’t like contradictions. They sit in my head and then don’t shut up until I get to the bottom of it.
There’s another contradiction that I’m struggling with as well, and that’s the one where Allie Rose says that she won’t go after businesses who are using it, and then comments where she has asked small businesses to stop using the phrase (and small businesses have said that she’s come after them).
So, which one is it? And is she going to issue cease and desist letters to Barnes and Noble and Popsocket, as they also use the phrase?
If she doesn’t go after all these businesses, then won’t she lose the trademark? Isn’t that how it works?
I get her need to want to protect her business and her copyright. But that’s what copyright is for. With the phrase being used so much and never created by one person, it shouldn’t be trademarked. But if it is, then don’t lie and don’t contradict.
Something about the whole thing is icky, and it definitely comes down to a lie being told somewhere. I’m going to keep an eye on this one.
