Activewear brand Sweaty Betty has recently faced controversy following allegations that it copied advertising slogans from other brands. Period underwear company Nixi Body claims that Sweaty Betty used slogans strikingly similar to its own, marking the latest in a series of disputes involving the brand. The accusations follow revelations from personal trainer and fitness influencer Georgina Cox, who disclosed that Sweaty Betty had offered her a settlement in relation to another contested slogan.
Nixi Body has long promoted its leak-proof period underwear using the phrases “Keeping you moving through menstruation, motherhood and menopause” and “No leaks. No ifs. Just butts.” Sweaty Betty later used the tagline “Keeping you moving through menstruation, maternity and menopause” to advertise its femtech range of leak-resistant and maternity leggings. This was subsequently revised to: “Menstruation. Maternity. Menopause. Together we’re raising the bar for every woman, for any life stage.” Earlier this year, the brand also launched a campaign using the slogan “No ifs. Just butt.”
Separately, Ms Cox, as personal trainer and fitness influencer, rose to prominence in 2020 after the phrase “Wear The Damn Shorts” went viral. In 2023 and 2024, Sweaty Betty approached her for permission to use the slogan in its advertising campaigns and paid her on both occasions. However, Ms Cox alleges that in 2025 Sweaty Betty used the phrase again without crediting her and she subsequently sent an initial cease and desist letter to Sweaty Betty requesting that they stop using the tagline. Ms Cox was later offered a £4,000 settlement in exchange for not pursuing the matter further and for keeping the agreement confidential.
Under UK Trade Mark law, descriptive phrases or slogans that consumers view as mere marketing “puff” are generally not eligible for registrable legal protection. As a result, advertising taglines can be difficult to register as trade marks. That said, protection is not impossible. A slogan may be registrable if it's particularly distinctive or if evidence shows that consumers associate it, or have come to associate it through marketing and use, exclusively with a single brand.
Sweaty Betty has pointed to the fact that multiple parties have used the disputed phrases, or similar variations, as justification for adopting them. While it may be arguable that no single party can claim exclusive legal rights over these taglines, both Nixi Body and Georgina Cox appear to believe they have built brand recognition and value through their long-standing use of the phrases.
Due to neither Nixi Body nor Georgina Cox having a registered trade mark, they would need to rely on the common law right of passing off to bring a claim against Sweat Betty. To do so, either party would have to argue that they have goodwill in the slogan which they consider Sweaty Betty has ripped-off. This could be very difficult to prove as they'd have to show that consumers knew of their business and purchased their services due to these slogans.
However, even where the legal threshold for ownership is not met, the reputational fallout from perceived “slogan theft” can be significant—particularly when allegations of appropriation arise repeatedly. Often, reputational damage is greater than the actual losses caused due to 'trade mark theft' particularly when news outlets such as the BBC are reporting on the story.
It is always recommended that businesses carry out thorough checks of both registered trade marks and existing marketplace use before adopting new taglines, and to proceed cautiously with slogans that go beyond the purely descriptive. Of course, if a tagline is beyond the purely descriptive, then protection as a registered trade mark should be considered as soon as possible, since relying on registered rights is eminently preferable to reliance on common-law rights, deriving from use, which are notoriously difficult and expensive to prove.
For more information contact our intellectual property team.
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