Opinion
A plant shop owner is fighting Nike over the name ‘Just Succ It’
After she mentioned Nike filed an opposition to her trademark, the proprietor of an internet succulent retailer, Simply Succ It, is popping to TikTok for assist preventing the sportswear large
Andrea Galbreath just lately went viral after posting about her authorized dilemma on TikTok. She’s utilizing the platform to get recommendation from customers in preventing a cease-and-desist from the sportswear large.
“I didn’t know what to do … I assumed, effectively if I publish one thing, somebody’s going to go away a remark that may put me in the fitting path,” Galbreath informed NBC Information. “And possibly somebody has been via this earlier than they usually might say, ‘This occurred to me and that is what I did.’”
The Southern California-based small enterprise proprietor first fell in love with the hardy vegetation whereas making an attempt to make her entrance yard drought-tolerant by planting rows of succulents as a substitute of grass. She considered the identify Simply Succ It after “a few glasses of wine,” and determined to purchase the area identify in case she wished to begin a succulent-themed weblog.
When she misplaced her job as a social employee initially of the pandemic, which Galbreath calls the “coronapocalypse,” she started making and promoting succulent reward preparations. Within the years since she launched the store, Galbreath has additionally expanded her merchandise to incorporate customized planters, reward bins and succulent-themed novelty gadgets with cheeky phrases impressed by the store’s identify.
She created an LLC utilizing the identify in July 2020, and after seeing one other on-line retailer copy the identify, filed to trademark it in April 2021. On Jan. 4, the trademark was revealed.
Quickly after, she mentioned she acquired a discover from the US Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) that Nike had filed an opposition discover to the trademark due to the identify’s similarity to Nike’s “Simply Do It” slogan.
Nike didn’t instantly reply to NBC Information’ request for remark.
Her first video about her plight has 471,000 views. Her follow-up video garnered 2.1 million views.
Inside days of posting the movies on TikTok, Galbreath mentioned she acquired a cease-and-desist letter from Nike. The letter, which was reviewed by NBC Information, acknowledged that the corporate needed to take steps to make sure that the general public wouldn’t confuse Simply Succ It with Nike’s personal merchandise. It additionally claimed that the identify infringed upon the “distinctiveness” of Nike’s “Simply Do It.”
“No one has ever, ever thought of my small enterprise to be remotely much like Nike,” Galbreath added. “They’ve by no means considered the identify, as a result of when folks hear ‘Simply Succ It,’ they’re ‘SUCK,’ they’re not pondering ‘SUCC,’ they usually’re definitely not pondering the phrase ‘do.’ It’s such an enormous stretch.”
Galbreath mentioned that preventing the opposition will probably be prohibitively costly — attorneys she spoke to for steerage mentioned that authorized charges might price $50,000 to $100,000, and it might take years for a call.
“That might spoil a small enterprise,” she continued. “And that’s why they do this, as a result of they know that almost all small companies are usually not going to attempt to struggle an organization like them.”
In its cease-and-desist letter to Galbreath, the corporate wrote that it might be prepared to work together with her to find out a “cheap time” to transition from Simply Succ It to a unique identify. Nike requested a response to the letter by Feb. 4.
Galbreath continues to be “making an attempt to determine a method” to struggle Nike. Within the meantime, she plans to maintain utilizing the identify for her enterprise.
“I hope that the takeaway is that individuals can see that it doesn’t matter what life throws at them, they’ve the flexibility to adapt and thrive, and have enjoyable doing it although typically it sucks.”
simply succ it store proprietor andrea galbreath
“It’s mine. I plan on utilizing it till I can’t,” she mentioned. “The cease-and-desist is only a letter. It’s not an order from the court docket. It’s a bullying tactic that they’re sending to me to look scary.”
She mentioned that individuals on-line have been “actually supportive,” with some even providing to arrange a GoFundMe web page to crowdfund authorized charges.
She’s additionally related with attorneys via TikTok who’ve given her recommendation on the way to deal with the authorized battle. And if she does must rebrand, “there’s nonetheless wine concerned” in brainstorming a brand new store identify.
“I’m selecting to see this as a chance to develop and thrive in the way in which that my succulents do,” Galbreath mentioned. “I hope that the takeaway is that individuals can see that it doesn’t matter what life throws at them, they’ve the flexibility to adapt and thrive, and have enjoyable doing it although typically it sucks.”
