A North Charleston-based apparel and accessories company has agreed to pay 850,000 dollars and destroy its remaining beaver-logo merchandise to settle a federal trademark lawsuit brought by the Texas-based travel-center chain Buc-ee’s, according to a filing in the United States District Court in Charleston.
The defendant, Born United, operates locations in North Charleston, Summerville and Myrtle Beach and sells apparel under labels including Born United Private Label, Relentless Betrayal, Tango Charlie Apparel and 13th and Mucker Bucket. Buc-ee’s filed suit in May 2025 after it identified merchandise in the marketplace that the company said copied its distinctive cartoon beaver.
Under the terms of the agreement, Born United and its three named principals must stop producing, selling or distributing any items bearing the beaver logo. The three principals identified as defendants are Cameron Bechtold, Jared Williams and Josiah Bradley. Remaining stock in Born United’s warehouses must be destroyed.
The Buc-ee’s brand, built around a smiling cartoon beaver, has been protected by federal trademark registrations that the chain has enforced aggressively as it has grown beyond Texas. The company opened its first store outside Texas in 2018 and this year opened a location in Beavercreek, Ohio, and it has also sued a family-owned Ohio store called Beaver’s Mini Mart over its logo.
South Carolina state Sen. Tom Fernandez, who once held a 49 percent stake in the Born United store in Myrtle Beach, was not named as a defendant. Fernandez said in a June 3, 2025 social-media post that the company’s ownership believed it had a strong legal position when the lawsuit was filed.
