The bitter legal battle between Pattie Gonia and Patagonia continues.
The drag artist’s trademark tiff with the outdoor clothing brand has new developments from both sides. Early Monday, the company uploaded a statement to its instagram — on the first day of Pride Month — with conditions that she must follow in order for Patagonia to drop the lawsuit that was filed against her in January.
“We wish this lawsuit hadn’t been necessary, and we want to acknowledge any hurt it has caused, especially in the LGBTQ+ community,” the post reads. “We don’t want to argue trademark law on social media. Importantly, we want to continue to resolve this.”
The company laid out stipulations for the drag queen to adhere to and they are as follows: Pattie Gonia must withdraw all trademark applications, she must cease using its logos, and she must stop selling and promoting apparel and other products as Pattie Gonia.
This comes two days after the drag queen called out the CEO of Patagonia, Ryan Gellert, on social media, after Gellert spoke about the lawsuit at an industry conference on Friday. In the video, the CEO claimed that Gonia wouldn’t have conversations with the company’s team, to which she says is a lie. She debunked the executive's claims in a video uploaded Saturday.
In the clip, Gonia proposed an offer to end this conflict, saying that she’s willing to drop the trademark if the company would be willing to drop the lawsuit. She went on to say that if they don’t come to an agreement on this proposal, the world will know that the company is in, in fact, trying to “erase [her] identity and [her] whole community’s activism.”
Last Wednesday, the drag queen and climate activist spoke out on social media for the first time since the apparel company filed a copyright infringement lawsuit claiming that she violated an agreement the two parties had after she submitted an application to trademark her name. The brand also accused Gonia of selling merchandise with logos that are similar to its own, which could cause brand confusion.
After the famed drag queen uploaded her statements to social media, claiming that the clothing brand is “trying to erase an activist,” Patagonia responded with its own statement titled, “Update on protecting our brand,” in which it writes that it has tried to “find a path forward that would allow Pattie Gonia to continue their work while also protecting the Patagonia trademark.” However, the company says, “unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement.”
The brand goes on to say it has a responsibility to protect its trademark and the lawsuit was not for financial gain. Though, Pattie disagrees heavily and argues that this lawsuit would financially ruin her business. After sharing her proposal, she’s left the ball in Patagonia’s court.
