If a content creator spends years building an online community on a social media platform, who ultimately owns that brand: the individual who created it or the tech company that provided the digital infrastructure to host it? That question now sits before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case with potentially far-reaching implications for the creator economy.
Jaime Rogozinski launched the subreddit r/wallstreetbets on Reddit on January 31, 2012, establishing an online community for retail investors to discuss stock and option trading. He moderated the community for more than eight years, cultivating its personality, style, and shared jargon. By 2020, r/wallstreetbets had more than one million subscribers. In early 2021, the community gained notoriety for sparking the GameStop short squeeze and the proliferation of meme stocks.
On March 24, 2020, Rogozinski filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the trademark WallStreetBets. However, Reddit suspended his account weeks later for “attempting to monetize a community” and revoked his moderation privileges. On May 11, 2020, Reddit filed its own trademark application for WallStreetBets and moved to block Rogozinski’s registration.
Rogozinski filed a lawsuit in 2023 seeking a declaratory judgment that he, not Reddit, owns the WallStreetBets trademark.
Court Rulings
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed Rogozinski’s complaint on January 12, 2024, ruling that he failed to demonstrate first use of WallStreetBets in commerce. The court found that Reddit, not Rogozinski, provided the services associated with the brand through launching and operating the subreddit.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal on June 11, 2025.
“Rogozinski failed to state a trademark claim because he failed to adequately plead ownership over the WALLSTREETBETS mark,” the court wrote. The ruling stated that “the core of the services at issue are the provision and hosting of r/WallStreetBets – an online forum-based community in which Reddit users exchange financial information.”
The appeals court found that Reddit “created and provided the services that enabled Reddit’s many users to contribute to the discussion” on the subreddit. The court acknowledged that Rogozinski “played a prominent role among those users,” but concluded that he “has not stated a valid ownership claim over the WALLSTREETBETS mark.”
Supreme Court Petition
Jaime Rogozinski filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, challenging the Ninth Circuit ruling.
The petition frames the legal question as: “Who owns the trademark for a user-created online community on a social media platform: the social media platform that provides the technical infrastructure or the creator of the online community who creates the look, feel, and personality of the community, moderates the community’s content, cultivates the brand’s goodwill, and is recognized by the public as the source of the brand?”
Arguments for Review
Rogozinski’s petition argues that he, not Reddit, serves as the “source” of WallStreetBets for trademark purposes. The petition contends that Rogozinski created the community’s look, feel, and personality, moderated its content, and cultivated the brand’s goodwill. Reddit provided only the technical infrastructure, according to the filing.
The petition cites a precedential 2016 decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board that left open the possibility that creators who “carved out a smaller, online ‘community'” on a larger platform could provide the service of creating an online community necessary to own the applicable trademark.
Rogozinski’s legal team argues the Ninth Circuit’s ruling conflicts with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which treats platforms as distributors rather than creators of user content. The petition states that the ruling creates “stratification” in which brands that existed before social media can maintain trademark ownership across platforms, while brands that emerge on social media are “left without any trademark ownership rights.”
The filing argues the Ninth Circuit’s decision has “significant implications as to the rights of creators in this sector.”
Reddit waived its right to respond to the petition, a procedural move that accelerates the Supreme Court’s timeline for deciding whether to hear the case. According to the press release announcing the petition, this strategic maneuver “effectively outruns the filing deadline for five critical Amicus Curiae briefs scheduled for submission next week” from organizations including the Digital Chamber of Commerce, OpenSource AI Foundation, Own Your Data Foundation, Digital Asset Trade Association, and Glazers Media.
The Court faces a December 5 deadline to decide whether to grant certiorari.
Nii A. Ahene is the founder and managing director of Net Influencer, a website dedicated to offering insights into the influencer marketing industry. Together with its newsletter, Influencer Weekly, Net Influencer provides news, commentary, and analysis of the events shaping the creator and influencer marketing space. Through interviews with startups, influencers, brands, and platforms, Nii and his team explore how influencer marketing is being effectively used to benefit businesses and personal brands alike.
If a content creator spends years building an online community on a social media platform, who ultimately owns that brand: the individual who created it or the tech company that provided the digital infrastructure to host it? That question now sits before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case with potentially far-reaching implications for the creator economy.
Jaime Rogozinski launched the subreddit r/wallstreetbets on Reddit on January 31, 2012, establishing an online community for retail investors to discuss stock and option trading. He moderated the community for more than eight years, cultivating its personality, style, and shared jargon. By 2020, r/wallstreetbets had more than one million subscribers. In early 2021, the community gained notoriety for sparking the GameStop short squeeze and the proliferation of meme stocks.
On March 24, 2020, Rogozinski filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the trademark WallStreetBets. However, Reddit suspended his account weeks later for “attempting to monetize a community” and revoked his moderation privileges. On May 11, 2020, Reddit filed its own trademark application for WallStreetBets and moved to block Rogozinski’s registration.
Rogozinski filed a lawsuit in 2023 seeking a declaratory judgment that he, not Reddit, owns the WallStreetBets trademark.
Court Rulings
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed Rogozinski’s complaint on January 12, 2024, ruling that he failed to demonstrate first use of WallStreetBets in commerce. The court found that Reddit, not Rogozinski, provided the services associated with the brand through launching and operating the subreddit.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal on June 11, 2025.
“Rogozinski failed to state a trademark claim because he failed to adequately plead ownership over the WALLSTREETBETS mark,” the court wrote. The ruling stated that “the core of the services at issue are the provision and hosting of r/WallStreetBets – an online forum-based community in which Reddit users exchange financial information.”
The appeals court found that Reddit “created and provided the services that enabled Reddit’s many users to contribute to the discussion” on the subreddit. The court acknowledged that Rogozinski “played a prominent role among those users,” but concluded that he “has not stated a valid ownership claim over the WALLSTREETBETS mark.”
Supreme Court Petition
Jaime Rogozinski filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, challenging the Ninth Circuit ruling.
The petition frames the legal question as: “Who owns the trademark for a user-created online community on a social media platform: the social media platform that provides the technical infrastructure or the creator of the online community who creates the look, feel, and personality of the community, moderates the community’s content, cultivates the brand’s goodwill, and is recognized by the public as the source of the brand?”
Arguments for Review
Rogozinski’s petition argues that he, not Reddit, serves as the “source” of WallStreetBets for trademark purposes. The petition contends that Rogozinski created the community’s look, feel, and personality, moderated its content, and cultivated the brand’s goodwill. Reddit provided only the technical infrastructure, according to the filing.
The petition cites a precedential 2016 decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board that left open the possibility that creators who “carved out a smaller, online ‘community'” on a larger platform could provide the service of creating an online community necessary to own the applicable trademark.
Rogozinski’s legal team argues the Ninth Circuit’s ruling conflicts with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which treats platforms as distributors rather than creators of user content. The petition states that the ruling creates “stratification” in which brands that existed before social media can maintain trademark ownership across platforms, while brands that emerge on social media are “left without any trademark ownership rights.”
The filing argues the Ninth Circuit’s decision has “significant implications as to the rights of creators in this sector.”
Reddit waived its right to respond to the petition, a procedural move that accelerates the Supreme Court’s timeline for deciding whether to hear the case. According to the press release announcing the petition, this strategic maneuver “effectively outruns the filing deadline for five critical Amicus Curiae briefs scheduled for submission next week” from organizations including the Digital Chamber of Commerce, OpenSource AI Foundation, Own Your Data Foundation, Digital Asset Trade Association, and Glazers Media.
The Court faces a December 5 deadline to decide whether to grant certiorari.