“She Painted a Few Champagne Bottles…” (featured quotes)

Marshall Gerstein Partner Kelley Gordon was interviewed by WIRED Magazine this week for a story about the legal challenges that can follow influencers who post protected intellectual property belonging to brands. The article centered on a fashion influencer who posted a photo of a popular brand’s champagne bottles, which was then reported to a major social media site for trademark infringement. Her account – with more than 100,000 followers, which helped her bring in a six-figure annual salary from marketing products – was shut down.

Kelley explained in the interview that it’s “understandable” why the brand wanted to control its appearances on social media. “Any product mentioned on an influencer’s account might be seen by some followers as part of a brand partnership, even when, as in (this) case, she was acting alone and wasn’t hawking anything. The underlying character and purpose of the account is the catch here. It’s within a trademark holder’s right to prevent confusion regardless of whether there’s positive spin on it.”

According to WIRED, the influencer’s social media account in question was restored after she appealed to a representative of the beverage brand.

Interested readers can access the story "She Painted a Few Champagne Bottles..." on WIRED’s website.