Financial planner and social media star Canna Campbell taken to court over trademarked term

A financial planner and social media influencer is facing legal action, accused of using a trademarked term to promote her podcasts.

Financial planner Canna Campbell.

Financial planner and social media influencer Canna Campbell faces a legal battle over allegations she stole the trademarked term “financial foreplay” and used it to promote her own podcast series.

The Sydney businesswoman has been involved in an ongoing dispute and next month is due to appear before the Federal Circuit Court after Melbourne accountant Rhondalynn Korolak accused her of using the term “financial foreplay” as the name of her podcast.

Records show the trademark for “financial foreplay” was registered by Ms Korolak on April 4, 2016. The registration is effective for 10 years.

In November 2020, Ms Korolak also registered “financial foreplay” for any podcast series.

Ms Campbell – who goes by the pseudonym SugarMamma – attempted to register “SugarMamma’s financial foreplay” at a later date but records show this application was withdrawn in March 2021.

Ms Campbell on her website is described as a “financial planner, keynote speaker, financial expert, best-selling author of The $1000 Project & Mindful Money and founder of financial media platform SugarMamma TV”.

She has regularly appeared in the media to provide financial tips, has authored several books and has her own YouTube channel, SugarMamma TV, which has more than 126,000 subscribers.

Financial planner Canna Campbell promoting her podcast series on Instagram.

In the original statement of claim lodged last year, Ms Korolak said first registered the domain names in December 2009 and that included financialforeplay.com then financialforeplaypodcast.com in January 2021.

Ms Korolak states in the documents she also registered a Facebook account called Financial Foreplay in May 2011, a YouTube account in the same name established in May 2012 and a Twitter account, @financial4play created in March 2010.

The documents claim that from about June 2020, Ms Campbell “promoted, advertised and supplied content using the words “financial foreplay” and the words “SugarMamma’s Financial Foreplay”, as well as used signage with those words which was an infringement of Ms Korolak’s trademark.

Since the court action has been under way, Ms Campbell’s podcast series has changed its name to “SugarMamma’s Fireplay” and there are dozens of episodes in the series.

Prior to Ms Campbell’s podcast name change there were at least 26 episodes that used the disputed wording, and it was promoted on Ms Campbell’s websites and social media accounts including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Ms Korolak’s says in the court documents Ms Campbell’s alleged conduct has “injured the goodwill and reputation of the applicant” and she is seeking a public apology, damages and legal costs.

In Ms Campbell’s defence documents she has denied the allegations by Ms Korolak and says although the words “financial foreplay” are used, the title of her podcast that was produced by SASS Financial, SugarMamma’s Financial Foreplay, is different and she that ceased using the words in May last year.

A spokesman for Ms Campbell said they would not be commenting on the matter.