Last Updated
UPDATED JULY 5TH, 2019
Johnathan Kubben announces the problem has been resolved in an Instagram Update!
“REITMANS FIXED IT!!!
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Everything ended well. We are pleased to tell you that we solved it and reached an agreement! @reitmans not only decided to transfer me the trademark application for MOM I’M FINE in Canada, but they also agreed to pay for a compensation AND they contribute to our humanitarian effort to help build the school made out of plastic in Mexico!
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I am writing this message just to tell you how grateful I am.
You can’t imagine the warmth I felt when I saw the AMAZING way you showed me your support!
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Artists, content creators, Mom I’m Fine lovers, you all contributed to make this happen.
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There were thousands of likes, comments, mentions, private messages, millions of views and I want to tell you that every single one of them made me feel I wasn’t alone.
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This gave me the strength to fight for what I believe in.
United, we can achieve great things, and this is just another proof.
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From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you to everyone. I will never forget this…
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To end this message, I would like to say:
MOM, I’M FINE AGAIN, THANKS TO YOU GUYS!
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Thank you Reitmans for fixing this!
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#MomImFineAgain”
Jonathan Kubben, the famous travel influencer known as “Mom I'm Fine” has accused Reitmans of stealing his well known brand.
Last year, you may have seen the hilarious t-shirts with the lettering “Mom I'm Fine” written with bold lettering on the front. It was part of a campaign created by the Quebec based company, Reitmans, just in time for Mother's Day. Over 10,000 of the shirts were sold as Reitmans had launched a contest to capture the best “Mom I'm Fine” moments and post them to social media.
Although seemingly a genius campaign created by Reitmans, there was one big problem. According to Kubben, the brand already existed and was stolen from him. Back in 2016 Kubben used the slogan to reassure his mom that he was safe during his world travels using the slogan “Mom I'm Fine” in all his posts on Instagram. What quickly started out as a fun way to keep in touch with Mom turned into a viral sensation that amassed him with a following of over 350,000.
In 2017, Kubben announced that he was creating a brand new clothing line using his now famous hashtag. Shortly after the announcement, he realized that Reitmans was ahead of him and launching the exact same campaign starting in the spring of 2018.
"They made about 10,000 t-shirts, more than 200,000 bags, cases, with the same font, the same color , the same way of communicating on social networks, the whole concept. "
Kubben registered his trademark in Europe and was saving funds to complete the registration in Canada. Before he could complete the process, Reitmans registered the tradmark April 17, 2018.
Kubben did not immediately contact Reitmans but the company came under attack by “pressure from social media users.” Reitmans decided to drop its campaign but did not remove the shirts or sweaters from shelves and continued to sell the “Mom I'm Fine” brand.
Initially communications betwere Kubben and Reitmans were going well until Reitmans lawyers got involved. After that everything fell through according to a statement obtained by Radio – Canada.
"They didn’t just use MIF, they used the same font, the same colors and even the same way of communicating (by asking local influencers to post Mom I’m fine pictures)." ⠀
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"the campaign was legally and legitimately implemented. We respect the work of influencers and content creators, and we have a very constructive relationship with many of them. It is in this state of mind that we suspended the promotional campaign less than a week after its launch, regardless of the financial losses caused by this decision for our company."
Influencers that had taken part in Reitmans campaign pulled down their posts when they realized the glaring similarities to Kubben's brand.
In an Instagram post, Kubben says this is bigger than just him versus a big company. He is standing up for all young creators that have had ideas taken from them by big companies.
"I would like to recover Mom I'm fine and especially repair, because from a moral point of view, from a financial point of view, it cost me in lawyers, it cost me sales, it cost me a lot of things. "
Kubenn has since traveled to Montreal and has set up a tent on the front lawn of Reitmans where he insists he will stay until they have apologized and gets back his “Mom I'm Fine” brand.
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An version of this story appeard on CBC Radio – Canada
Cover Photo Credit: Instagram – @momimfine