Checkout Budget Highlights 2023The founder of WallStreetBets, the Reddit chat forum that fueled the 2021 meme stock frenzy, sued the social media platform to try to reclaim control of the online community.
Jaime Rogozinski claims that after he applied for a trademark for WALLSTREETBETS in March 2020, he was banned from moderating the forum he created in 2012. Reddit is asserting ownership over chat forum brands on its platform as it plans to go public, according to the complaint Rogozinski filed Wednesday in federal court in Oakland, California.
The suit, which includes claims of breach of contract and trademark infringement, comes three years after Rogozinski was barred by Reddit and two years after participants in WallStreetBets helped set off a trading frenzy in a short-seller squeeze targeting GameStop.
“This is a completely frivolous lawsuit with no basis in reality,” said a spokesperson for Reddit. “Jaime was removed as a moderator of r/WallStreetBets by Reddit and banned by the community moderators for attempting to enrich himself. This lawsuit is another transparent attempt to enrich himself.”
The case is Rogozinski v. Reddit Inc., 4:23-cv-00686, US District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).