Patagonia is suing drag queen Pattie Gonia for trademark infringement

There is an ongoing legal dispute between US sportswear and accessories brand Patagonia and American drag queen Pattie Gonia.

The two names are phonetically very similar. Patagonia alleged in its lawsuit in California federal court that Wyn Wiley used the name Pattie Gonia on clothing and for advertising services. These overlap with Patagonia’s proprietary trademark rights, including “motivational speaking services in support of environmental sustainability” and “organizing and conducting hiking and trekking events.”

Pattie Gonia: celebrated drag queen, environmentalist and advocate for diversity in nature

Pattie Gonia is the founder of the Queer Outdoor and Environmental Job Board. This is a free tool designed to help queer people find jobs in environmental and outdoor professions and thus diversify these career fields.

In trademark law, courts usually find a risk of confusion for consumers when names are very similar and goods or services overlap.

On January 21, Patagonia filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against drag queen, activist and entrepreneur Pattie Gonia. “While we would have preferred to avoid this lawsuit and have actively engaged with Pattie for several years to prevent it, we had to take action to protect the brand we have built over the last 50 years,” the company said in a statement.

“We are not opposed to art, creative expression or commentary on our brand. We wish Pattie a long and successful career and progress on important issues. However, this must be done in a way that respects Patagonia’s intellectual property and our ability to use the brand to sell products and support environmental causes,” the executive emphasized.

“For over three years, Patagonia had an open dialogue with Pattie Gonia to discuss how she could continue her environmental and social commitments, brand deals and other projects without violating our trademark rights. We believed we had reached an agreement, and for a time we did.”

According to the company, Pattie Gonia began selling clothing online under the ‘Pattie Gonia’ brand in late 2024 and continues to create and use versions of the Patagonia logo. “Our attempt to contact Pattie to ask her to abide by the agreement was rejected. A subsequent message seeking to discuss possible next steps went unanswered.”

“Then in September 2025, Pattie Gonia filed a trademark for the sole right to use the name ‘Pattie Gonia’ – for selling clothing, promoting environmental activism, online marketing and sponsorships, and more. These rights would directly overlap with our work and the products we offer, for which we have long held trademark rights,” Patagonia explained.

“To protect our rights, we must prevent others from copying our trademarks and logos. Otherwise, we would risk losing the ability to defend our trademarks entirely,” the company emphasized. “To be clear, we cannot selectively decide when to enforce our rights based on whether we agree with a particular viewpoint. Inconsistent enforcement could prevent us from preventing organizations such as oil and gas lobbies, counterfeiters, hate groups, or other malicious actors from using the Patagonia name and logo.”

“For these reasons, Pattie Gonia’s commercial use of a name nearly identical to ours, including as a trademark for environmental activism, as well as her request to register exclusive rights to use that name in the future, represents a long-term threat to the Patagonia brand and our activism,” the statement concluded.

According to Lux Juris, Patagonia is demanding symbolic damages of one US dollar. The primary legal remedies required are injunctive relief.

These include a court order prohibiting further use of the name Pattie Gonia, rejection or cancellation of the trademark registration, destruction of counterfeit goods, and a permanent injunction against future similar uses. The case is therefore more of a trademark protection lawsuit than a damages lawsuit.