Last week, we told you about the viral “demure” trend that had everyone from Khloe Kardashian to RuPaul showing fans how to be “very mindful” and “very cutesy” while doing – everything.
Chicago-based TikTok content creator Jools Lebron has been credited with starting the trend which has expanded well beyond her over 2 million followers to become the latest pop culture buzz word.
But Lebron, who parlayed the trend into collabs with cosmetics brand Patrick Ta Beauty and Verizon, thought it all might slip away when a man named Jefferson Bates filed an application in Washington to trademark the expression, “Very Demure .. Very Mindful ...” according to NBC News.
“I’ve just invested so much money and time into this, and I feel like I did it wrong. Like, I feel like I didn’t try hard enough,” Lebron said in a now-deleted video.
But what could have been a bitter legal battle looks like it will have a happy ending. On August 24, Raluca Pop filed paperwork with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the words “very demure very cutesy.” As of this post, the paperwork has been accepted but is still awaiting review.
Pop, founder of the social media app Hive Social, told NBC news she filed the paperwork to protect the phrase LeBron coined and plans to transfer the trademark to her so she can “reap the benefits.”
“Once I saw that this other guy tried to steal it out from under her, I realized that he didn’t trademark the remainder of her phrase, ‘very cutesy.’ And that’s when I went and I did it, instead.” she said.
In an August 27 TikTok video, Lebron confirmed that the trademark issue has been resolved.
“We got it handled” she said. “Momma got a team now.”
Lebron, who was a cashier at a local grocery chain before her online glow up, told TikTok followers she has used income made from the success of the “demure” trend to pay for her gender transition and help her best friend get out of an unhealthy living situation.
If that’s not mindful, we don’t know what is.