Etsy seller's 'bruh' T-shirts were removed over a trademark complaint.
asserted
shirts → remove → complaint
He says it's trademark squatting
Seller says person who complained registered trademark in bad faith — something trademark holder denies
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holder → say → faith
When Sam Joseph Karam received an email from online retailer Etsy saying 11 of his T-shirt designs bearing the slang term "bruh" had been taken down for a trademark violation, he was immediately suspicious.
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he → receive → violation
So that obviously caught our attention pretty quickly," Karam said.
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Karam → catch → attention
Karam, who owns the U.S.-based apparel company Customized Designs and sells clothing on sites like Etsy, says the platform also revoked his Star Seller badge — a mark given by the platform that means the seller provides top-tier customer service.
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seller → own → service
Following that, he says he noticed an immediate drop in sales.
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he → follow → sales
In the email, Etsy told Karam the shirt had been reported by someone named Malik Yawar Abbas, who holds a Canadian trademark for the term "bruh."
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who → tell → term
Karam is one of multiple Etsy sellers who told CBC News they've had items taken down from the platform after their use of the word was reported by the trademark holder.
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use → tell → holder
CBC News reviewed multiple emails Etsy sent to Karam and two other sellers that showed the takedowns came in response to complaints by Abbas.
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takedowns → review → Abbas
Karam says Abbas, the trademark holder, is "squatting" on the trademark, aiming to make money by licensing the use of the word to others rather than by making a product of his own.
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Abbas → say → own
Some legal experts say it's up to platforms and the legal system to better prevent trademarks from being used in this way.
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it → say → way
No clothes for sale, request for payment
A trademark for the word "bruh" was issued by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) in July 2025 in connection with selling many kinds of clothing, according to the government's trademarks database.
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trademark → issue → database
Another trademark for the same word was recently granted to Abbas for use in advertising restaurant services.
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trademark → grant → services
In an email to CBC News, CIPO did not answer questions about the "bruh" trademark, but said each trademark application the office receives is "examined on a case-by-case basis."
After the listings were removed, Karam found the trademark holder's website and was surprised to find a section detailing how he protects the "bruh" trademark and directing others to license with him in order to get permission to use it.
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he → answer → it
"We didn't invent the word.
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We → invent → word
the streets did.
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streets → do → ?
the internet did.
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internet → do → ?
but we realized its power," the site reads.
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site → realize → power
The site doesn't offer clothes for sale — just mock-ups of clothing and items like energy drinks using the word "bruh."
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site → offer → word
In an email to CBC News, trademark holder Abbas said those images are there to show "potential commercial applications" of the brand.
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images → say → brand
When Karam contacted Abbas about the Etsy takedowns to see if he would withdraw his complaint, Abbas said he would if Karam agreed to a number of terms and paid him $1,000.
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Karam → contact → 1,000
Karam refused, and says the signs in this case all point toward what he says is "trademark squatting."
"It's quite disheartening," Karam said.
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Karam → refuse → case
"When you have someone immediately turn around and say, 'I want $1,000, simply to go back and retract my complaint,' you know right there that they're acting in bad faith.
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they → have → faith
Abbas told CBC News via email that the $1,000 was a proposed settlement that was "part of a negotiated resolution of a disputed trademark matter.
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that → tell → matter
It was not paid, and no monetary settlement was concluded.
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settlement → pay → ?
He also disagrees with the idea that he is squatting on the trademark.
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he → disagree → trademark
"BRUH is a lawfully registered Canadian trademark being developed as a commercial licensing brand," Abbas wrote.
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Abbas → register → brand
He has since withdrawn the complaint to Etsy, which he says he did after the 11 designs were removed and those products were no longer being offered to Canadian consumers.
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products → withdraw → consumers
But Karam says the "damage has been done."
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damage → say → ?
He is currently in contact with an intellectual property lawyer and is considering taking legal action to try to invalidate the trademark on the basis of bad faith.
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He → consider → faith
Bad faith trademarks can be taken down
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trademarks → take → ?
Under a relatively new part of Canada's trademark laws added in 2019, a trademark can be invalidated if it was filed in "bad faith," explains Carys Craig, a professor at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School specializing in intellectual property law.
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Craig → add → law
While cases arguing bad faith have popped up, she says this part of the law is still somewhat untested, so she's not sure what a court might decide in this case.
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court → argue → case
Craig says licensing can be a valid way of using a trademark.
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licensing → say → trademark
Overall, she says the way the "bruh" trademark is being presented on the website, along with the takedown orders that are being sought, might be enough to reach the standard of bad faith.
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that → say → faith
"We just don't quite know what that looks like yet."
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that → know → what
Abbas told CBC News he trademarked the term in order to build a "licensing-only brand at the time when there was no BRUH-named brand in Canada," and disagrees that "protecting, enforcing or commercially developing" the brand should be characterized as bad faith.
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protecting → tell → faith
"If there is a genuine disagreement about the validity, scope, or infringement of the registration, Canadian law provides mechanisms and forums to determine those issues," he said.
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he → be → issues
Does a trademark mean you own a word?
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you → mean → word
Despite broad use, general terms and pop culture phrases can be trademarked — it all depends on the context, according to Craig.
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it → trademark → Craig
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
