Patagonia takes drag queen Pattie Gonia to court in trademark infringement lawsuit

Patagonia, the outdoor apparel company, is suing Pattie Gonia, the drag queen and environmentalist, for trademark infringement—a move the company says is necessary to “protect the brand [it has] spent the last 50 years building.” 

In a lawsuit filed in California federal court this week, Patagonia argues that Pattie Gonia’s name, particularly when used on apparel or in support of environmental sustainability, competes “directly” with the products and advocacy work core to Patagonia. 

Patagonia claims in its complaint that the overlapping names have already confused customers, and that a recent move from the drag queen to sell her own branded apparel goes against a prior agreement the two parties had. The company is seeking a “nominal” $1.00 in damages.

“We’re not against art, creative expression, or commentary about our brand,” Patagonia says in a statement. “We want Pattie to have a long and successful career and make progress on issues that matter—but in a way that respects Patagonia’s intellectual property and ability to use our brand to sell products and advocate for the environment.”

Overlapping work

According to the lawsuit, the company and the environmentalist have long openly discussed how Pattie Gonia can continue her advocacy work and brand deals without infringing on Patagonia’s trademarks.

Pattie Gonia reportedly previously agreed to not use her name “in any form” on products, to not use or display Patagonia’s logos, and to not use the same font, Belwe, that Patagonia uses. 

But according to Patagonia, in 2024, Pattie Gonia sold branded apparel online and used versions of the company logo, and then in September 2025, she sought to trademark the brand “Pattie Gonia” for use on clothing and apparel, and to promise environmental activism.

“These rights would directly overlap with the work we do and the products we provide,” the company said. 

The lawsuit cites t-shirts sold on Pattie Gonia’s website that say “Pattie Gonia Hiking Club” along with stickers and gloves worn by the drag queen that seem to imitate Patagonia’s logo. 

At the time of publication, Pattie Gonia’s merch page showed her apparel as being sold out. Pattie Gonia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Patagonia says it can’t ‘selectively choose’ to enforce its trademark

Members of the public have already been confused as to whether or not Pattie Gonia is affiliated with Patagonia, the company claims. The lawsuit includes screenshots of a Pattie Gonia social media post on which commenters praised the company, and even said they “genuinely thought this was a Patagonia ad.” 

While Pattie Gonia has partnered with outdoor groups and brands including The North Face, National Geographic, REI, and Backcountry, according to her website, she has not officially partnered with Patagonia. (The company has featured Pattie Gonia and her nonprofit, The Outdoorist Oath, in an interview on the Patagonia site.)

If the company doesn’t prevent people or groups, including Pattie Gonia, from copying its brand and logo, it says, then it risks “losing the ability to defend our trademarks entirely.” 

Other groups, including the oil and gas lobby, have already misappropriated Patagonia’s name and logo. The lawsuit cites a t-shirt, for example, that says “Petrogonia” in the Patagonia font, against a silhouette of oil drilling equipment that mimics the company’s mountain silhouette.

“To put a finer point on it, we cannot selectively choose to enforce our rights based on whether we agree with a particular point of view,” the company says. “For these reasons Pattie Gonia’s use of a near-copy of our name commercially . . . pose long-term threats to Patagonia’s brand and our activism.”

While Pattie Gonia did not immediately respond to a request for comment, she and her business said in a statement to Bloomberg Law that they have “never and will never reference the brand Patagonia’s logo or brand,” adding that there was “plenty of room” for both the company and the drag queen to “play in this box.”

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