ST. LOUIS COUNTY 鈥 In vitro fertilization allowed Crystal Rusch to become a mother. It also introduced her to a community of women who had weathered similar struggles on the path to parenthood.
Six years ago, Rusch decided to open an Etsy shop, in part to encourage other 鈥渋nfertility warriors.鈥 One of her bestsellers was a sweatshirt with 鈥淚VF mama鈥 written five times down the front.
In May, Etsy removed the listing from her page. 鈥淚VF mama鈥 was no longer her term to use, the ecommerce giant told her. A woman in Connecticut had obtained a trademark on the phrase.
Rusch, who lives in south 狐狸视频 County, turned to Instagram to share the news.
鈥淧eople were in an uproar,鈥 she said. 鈥溾業VF mama鈥 is for all of us.鈥
About one in eight couples in the United States have difficulty conceiving. Though the experience is not uncommon, it can be isolating. But in recent years, the secrecy and stigma surrounding assisted reproductive technology has begun to lift.
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Medical advances have improved outcomes. Social media groups have formed to provide information and support. And small businesses such as Rusch鈥檚 鈥 through socks and shirts and greeting cards 鈥 name and normalize the different ways to build a family.
For Rusch, the delisting felt like an affront.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe I鈥檓 not going to be able to make these sweatshirts anymore,鈥 she said in her reel. 鈥淚鈥檓 really so freaking sad.鈥
The video made Pam Edson, of O鈥橣allon, Missouri, angry. Edson purchased one of Rusch鈥檚 sweatshirts before she became pregnant with her son, who turns 2 this month.
鈥淚 have made so many connections with other women from wearing the shirt,鈥 said Edson. 鈥淚t kind of opens the door for conversations.鈥
Rusch started her Etsy business, , to give her an outlet while she was grieving the miscarriage of her baby girl.
鈥淚t was a really difficult time,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 wanted to stay busy.鈥
Rusch works out of her home, producing more than 300 items 鈥 from onesies that say 鈥淚鈥檓 here because of IVF鈥 to 鈥淚VF dad鈥 ballcaps. But it was her multicolored $32.99 鈥淚VF mama鈥 sweatshirt that struck a chord with many customers.
A couple years ago, Cate Moon of Connecticut posted a photo of herself wearing the top, and Rusch鈥檚 sales took off. Moon, a self-described 鈥榠nfertile,鈥 had created her Instagram handle, , to chronicle her medical experiences. She amassed more than 46,000 followers and, through her online network, she met Rusch.
Moon, who now has two children, ordered the sweatshirt before she ever got pregnant. She wore it as a way to 鈥渃ome out of the infertility closet,鈥 she said.
In late March, the two women partnered on a fundraiser for , the national infertility association. Rusch screen printed 鈥淚VF MAMA鈥 in puffy charcoal letters on a black sweatshirt and sold a couple hundred of the new design.
鈥榁ery complicated鈥
About six weeks later, Rusch received the email from Etsy. Her original 鈥淚VF mama鈥 sweatshirt and the new black one had been removed because a woman named Brittany Mercier reported them as intellectual property infringements.
The U.S. Patent and Trade Office shows the application was filed by Mercier, of Avon, Connecticut, in March 2023; it was registered on April 9 of this year.
The trademark process is 鈥渧ery complicated,鈥 said Grace Fishel, an intellectual property attorney with an office in Maryland Heights.
More and more people file for trademarks every year, Fishel said, and marketplaces such as Etsy take a conservative approach, removing anything that matches the federal registry.
A representative from the company said in an email that it does not comment on specific shops or listings. An Etsy search for 鈥淚VF mama鈥 yields thousands of infertility-related products.
鈥淭hey do not want to get involved in lawsuits,鈥 said Fishel. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 check the internet to find out if this is a generic term.鈥
Mercier did not respond to an interview request for this story. The 鈥渁bout鈥 section on her Etsy shop, called , describes in vitro as 鈥渙ne very important chapter of my life story.鈥
Her Etsy site opened this year and sells 18 things, including a T-shirt, hat, denim jacket and leggings with 鈥淚VF mama鈥 written on them.
鈥楢 title we鈥檝e earned鈥
When Rusch recorded the Instagram video about what had happened, she had to do a couple of takes because she kept tearing up.
鈥淚鈥檓 kind of devastated,鈥 she told her followers. 鈥淚t seems like a silly thing to trademark.鈥
Many of them appeared to agree. Women posted selfies in their 鈥淚VF mama鈥 sweatshirts. Some created TikToks; others purchased different RoseGrace shirts or contributed to a fund to help Rusch pay for a lawyer.
Moon also sounded off on 鈥渢he sweatshirt fiasco with our beloved Crystal.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 incomprehensible,鈥 she said in a video that has been played 129,000 times.
A few days after Rusch got the notice from Etsy, Mercier contacted her via direct message, asking her to remove all other items that said 鈥淚VF mama鈥 or used the phrase in the description.
Jessica Archibald of Salt Lake City received a similar warning from Mercier. Archibald has sold cards and clothing for more than a year through .
鈥淭his is not a cash cow for me,鈥 said Archibald, who has undergone a dozen rounds of IVF. 鈥淭his is a title we鈥檝e earned.鈥
She has about $12,000 worth of embroidered 鈥淚VF mama鈥 sweatshirts sitting in her basement.
For now, Rusch has tweaked her initial design to say 鈥淚VF mom.鈥 Archibald has reworded the descriptions for her sweatpants and hoodies.
They are both pursuing their legal options.
Despite the stress of the 鈥淚VF mama drama,鈥 as Rusch refers to it, she has been buoyed by the online support.
鈥淚t fills my heart with happiness,鈥 she said.