Personal Representation to Ensure Justice: Grant Fairbairn and Barbara Marchevsky

Grant Fairbairn

Barbara Marchevsky

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. However, if you are an artist and entrepreneur, imitation can lead to dilution of your brand. That is what one young woman of color has tried to protect over the years. Daphne Valerius produced the 2007 documentary film “The Souls of Black Girls,” and, in 2010, launched I AM HER® Apparel, which she identifies as “an unapologetic online apparel brand that offers women and girls with uniquely designed statement pieces that celebrate her, inspires her and encourages her to be everything that she was called to be in the world.” Since the launch, Daphne had spent considerable time and effort removing knockoff products from the market, writing hundreds of takedown requests to online vendors and social media platforms.

In 2019, Daphne became aware that a well-known celebrity had partnered with a large, online retail store to sell t-shirts bearing the phrase “I Am Her” in celebration of Women’s History Month with proceeds going to a nonprofit benefiting women. Not only did this incident go viral, it also resulted in a flood of counterfeit products as the celebrity’s fame brought copycats out of the woodwork. After months of dealing directly with the online platforms, but getting nowhere herself, she learned of Fredrikson’s trademark and anti-counterfeiting practice through the World Trademark Review 1000 and reached out to Grant Fairbairn, chair of Fredrikson’s Anti-Counterfeiting Group for assistance. Now a doctoral student at the University of Missouri School of Communication and living on a stipend and the small profits of her clothing line, Daphne qualified for pro bono assistance. Grant worked with Barbara Marchevsky to contact the retail store and others on the client’s behalf. Barbara successfully convinced the celebrity and the companies to remove the infringing products and stop using the phrase I AM HER® without the client’s approval. Barbara and Grant have continued working with Daphne and are helping her clear the market of unauthorized products utilizing the trademark.