Outraged 'B Strong' Charity Accuses Bethenny Frankel Of Stealing Trademarked Name
Bethenny Frankel launched B Strong Disaster Relief to help the victims of natural disasters after Hurricane Irma’s devastation, but The Real Housewives of New York star is allegedly hurting another charity in the process. The Founder and Executive Director of the B Strong: Braden Aboud Memorial Foundation exclusively claimed to RadarOnline.com that Frankel has refused to change her charity’s name.
“We have reached out to her,” Gary Aboud exclusively told RadarOnline.com. “The attorney for Ms. Frankel has discussed with her about the usage of the trademark. The information we got back was that they don’t see a potential conflict. We are not sure we agree with that.”
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Aboud filed to have “B Strong” trademarked on October 5, 2007. The trademark is still live.
Aboud and his board of directors are contemplating their next move, as placing phone calls to Frankel’s attorney has not been successful.
“We’re not sure the avenue we’re going to take,” he said. “We have reached out to her. We have to make a decision quickly to protect our trademark. We are going to move forward on that to see if we can work something out. At least get her to open her ears about what she’s doing. We have to do what we have to do."
In 2014, the Boston Red Sox baseball team used “B Strong” after the Boston Marathon Bombing. The foundation “had to hire council” for them to stop using “B Strong.”
“It’s been a constant battle with people using it,” Aboud claimed. “She’s doing good things for the Puerto Rican community, but we are getting people in El Paso questioning who is who. People have to call us to clarify which organization is ours.”
Aboud explained how “B Strong” is a household name in the Southwest.
“It’s very near and dear to us,” he said. “We lost our son in 2007. It’s really important to us to protect the ‘B Strong’ trademark.”
B Strong: The Braden Aboud Memorial Foundation helps to improve the health and educational development of El Paso’s youth. They have raised over $1,500,000 since 2007 for donations to schools, teams and organizations in the El Paso region.
Frankel launched her organization in 2017. Her work with the charity has been featured on multiple episodes of RHONY.
A rep for Frankel responded to the trademark, "We greatly admire Gary Aboud and the work he is doing through the B Strong: The Braden Aboud Memorial Foundation to help the youth of El Paso, Texas. We are aware of his concerns about our use of B STRONG in connection with disaster relief efforts. We believe, however, that our work differs enough from the work of The Braden Aboud Memorial Foundation so that both uses of B STRONG can co-exist. Both organizations are helping people in need, which is what we should be focused on."
In 2016, Frankel feuded with co-star Sonja Morgan for launching a liquor line named Tipsy Girl, which she felt was too similar to her Skinny Girl brand. She called it a “cheater” brand.
Do you think she should give up the name ‘B Strong’? Tell us in the comments.
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