On June 11, 2025, in likely the most significant ruling of the longstanding feud between the social media website, Reddit, Inc., and the founder of its notorious “WallStreetBets” subreddit community, Jaime Rogozinski, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Case No. 24-735) affirmed a district court’s dismissal with prejudice of Mr. Rogizinski’s lawsuit alleging that Reddit continued to infringe upon the “WallStreetBets” trademark.

The principal issue in the Ninth Circuit’s ruling was the ownership of the trademark at issue, the starting point for any valid claim for trademark infringement. Mr. Rogizinski claimed to own the “WallStreetBets” trademark since he famously coined and used that term on Reddit’s website during the frenzy of so-called “meme stocks” in 2021.

However, both the district court and Ninth Circuit found that, notwithstanding being the first to use and even the first to attempt to register the “WallStreetBets” trademark, Mr. Rogizinski could not sufficient plead a valid claim of ownership since “the party claiming ownership must have been the first to actually use the mark in the sale of goods or services.” Here, although Mr. Rogizinski coined the term “WallStreetBets,” it was Reddit that first used it “in the sale of goods or services.” According to the Ninth Circuit, “by Rogozinski’s own allegations, it was Reddit that created and provided the services that enabled Reddit’s many users to contribute to the discussion on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit by, for example, posting and engaging with one another about various trading strategies.” For that reason, the district court’s dismissal of Mr. Rogizinski’s claim for trademark infringement without leave to amend was proper.

Rogozinski provides strong precedent that public, online use – and even formal registration – of a trademark does not entitle the user to a valid claim of ownership absent some connection between that use and the “sale of goods or services.” Users seeking to protect their online brands should be careful to take steps to establish that connection.

KEY TAKEAWAY:

• Standing alone, priority of use of a trademark, even in a public forum such as Reddit, does not entitle the user to a valid claim of ownership absent some connection between that use and the “sale of goods or services.”