Outdoor clothing brand Patagonia has released a statement after its trademark lawsuit against drag queen and climate activist Pattie Gonia made waves online.
Taking to Instagram, the clothing brand shared an update on its ongoing lawsuit against Pattie Gonia after she broke her silence on the matter via a TikTok video last week. News of the lawsuit has since sparked a heated debate on brand protection, queer culture and environmental advocacy.
"There’s a lot going around about the lawsuit we filed in January to protect our trademarks, and we owe you an update," the statement began.
"We wish this lawsuit had not been necessary, and we want to acknowledge any hurt it has caused, especially in the LGBTQ+ community. We don’t want to argue trademark law on social media. Importantly, we continue to want to resolve this," it continued before sharing a list of what Pattie Gonia must do to "resolve" the case.
This included:
- Withdrawing all trademark applications.
- Stop using Patagonia's logos.
- Halt selling and promoting apparel and other products under her name, Pattie Gonia.
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"If we can agree on this, we can work out everything else, and Pattie Gonia could continue as a performer and activist. We share common ground with them, including the goal of saving our home planet and creating a more inclusive outdoors," it said.
The brand's social media statement comes shortly after Pattie Gonia shared a video of Patagonia's CEO, Ryan Gellert, speaking about the lawsuit at an industry conference.
At the conference, Gellert claimed the advocate wouldn't have a conversation with them following concerns of her trademark application and the sale of merchandise under her name, which she dismissed.
"This is straight-up lies," Pattie Gonia claimed.
"Because the first time we heard from Patagonia after filing our trademark application was four months later, when their internal lawyer emailed to say that Patagonia had filed the lawsuit against me for trademark infringement.
"So there was no conversation, not because I wasn't willing to have it, but because Patagonia, you never reached out. You blind sided us."
Further in the video, Pattie Gonia shared that her trademark application passed the first step, with the examining attorney finding the application "not confusingly similar to Patagonia's mark".
"Patagonia, from the beginning, all I've wanted is peace, and I don't think you're entitled to what I'm about to do, and you certainly don't deserve it for your extremely disappointing behaviour," Pattie Gonia continued.
"You're saying the issue is the trademark, I'm willing to drop the trademark, and if I do that, you drop the lawsuit," she said before playing a snippet of Gellert stating at the conference, "The issue that we're wrestling with isn't about trying to silence somebody. The issue that we're wrestling with is not trying to take somebody's identity away."
"So, if this is true, that it's about the trademark, then you'll drop the lawsuit. But if you don't, we'll know what this is really about. Patagonia is trying to erase my identity and my whole community's activism," she said.
At the time of writing, Pattie Gonia has not responded to the brand's recent statement.
