The retailer Reitmans and influencer Jonathan Kubben have reached an agreement over their ongoing slogan dispute.
On Friday, the company announced that it will transfer the trademark application for “Mom, I’m fine” in Canada to Kubben.
The retail giant and social media star also agreed on the remittance of an indemnity, Reitmans said in a statement. The retailer says it will also contribute to Kubben’s foundation.
“Everything ended well,” Kubben wrote on an Instagram post on Friday. “Reitmans not only decided to transfer me the trademark, but they also agreed to pay a compensation and contribute to our humanitarian effort to help build the school made out of plastic in Mexico,” he added.
The two parties clashed when Kubben accused the store of stealing his social media slogan “Mom, I’m fine,” which Kubben claims he coined in 2016.
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Kubben went so far as to peacefully protest outside the Reitmans head office in Montreal last week, where he asked for the licensing of the slogan and for the profits made from the sale of the branded products be put towards a humanitarian cause of his choice.
READ MORE: Instagram influencer protests outside Reitmans head office over ‘Mom, I’m fine’ campaignThe social media content creator has been documenting his travels around the world for several years, posting pictures with a sign that reads “Mom, I’m fine” from around the globe.“I sold my car, I quit my job, I sold everything to create a concept to travel the world,” Kubben said.“If I was jumping out of a plane, swimming with sharks, I would have the same message for my mom,” added the Belgian native.As Kubben amassed his following of 360,000, his “Mom, I’m fine” sign became his viral brand. Kubben even turned the slogan into a clothing brand.Before Kubben could produce and sell his products, however, he said Reitmans released items with the same printed slogan for a 2018 Mother’s Day campaign.WATCH: Social media influencer challenges Reitmans over branding
Social media influencer challenges Reitmans over branding
“For them, it’s another campaign,” said Kubben. “For me, it’s three years of my life. Is it ethical to take a whole concept?”Kubben said that over 10,000 branded T-shirts and bags were sold by the Canadian retail company.Reitmans told Global News that the marketing of the branded items in question was cancelled within one week of the campaign’s launch and that no other products containing the phrase have been produced since.— With files from Global News’ Brayden Jagger Haines and The Canadian Press
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