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Patagonia sues drag performer Pattie Gonia for trademark infringement
The outdoor clothing and camping gear retailer Patagonia is suing drag performer and environmental activist Pattie Gonia for trademark infringement. The company’s lawsuit seeks $1 in damages and to block the performer from registering her drag name as a trademark or selling any merchandise with her drag name on it.
“We’re not against art, creative expression or commentary about a brand,” the company wrote in a statement. “While we wish we didn’t have to do this – and actively engaged with Pattie for several years to avoid this – it has become necessary to protect the brand we have spent the last 50 years building.”
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Patagonia is a region in South America that spans Argentina and Chile and is popular among ecotourists. Both Pattie Gonia, the performer, and Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company, say their names were inspired by this region.
The company said that, for over three years, it has “engaged in open dialogue” with the drag artist to discuss how she can “continue her environmental and social advocacy, brand deals, and other work without infringing on our trademarks.”
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In 2022, the company discovered that the drag performer was discussing a fundraising partnership with Hydroflask and The North Face, one of Patagonia’s business competitors.
In response, Patagonia told the performer that it would allow her to use her drag name for activism, but not for commercial sales. Patagonia said she should not print her name “in any form” or use the company’s font on any products. At the time, Pattie Gonia’s representatives said it would “take note” of the company’s wishes, but never explicitly agreed to them.
Nevertheless, the company says that in September 2025, the performer violated the agreement by filing an application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register “Pattie Gonia” as an official personal business trademark. The lawsuit also says that the performer registered the domain name ‘pattiegoniamerch.com’ and began selling t-shirts, hoodies, and stickers that said “Pattie Gonia Hiking Club” in the company’s font to promote her appearances nationwide.
The company filed its lawsuit against the drag performer in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California last Wednesday.
However, Pattie Gonia has previously claimed that the company’s font appeared on a piece of “fan art” that the performer has never sold.
The performer also said that she wanted to “avoid any perceived association with the brand Patagonia” after discovering that one of its subsidiary companies “developed and sold tactical and military gear to the U.S. government and police departments across the nation.”
“Consumers have yet to hold the brand Patagonia responsible for NOT thinking beyond profit with the creation of Broken Arrow, which supports the very people and institutions destroying the planet – the US military is, after all, the world’s largest global polluter,” the performer wrote. “It is a disconcerting fact that for a company that claims to be ‘in business to save our home planet.'”
Regardless, the company’s lawsuit claims that the performer sows “confusion” by using her similar-sounding drag name while advertising her services, which include “motivational speaking services in support of environmental sustainability” and “organizing, arranging, and conducting trail and hiking events.”
Late last year, the performer hiked 100 miles in drag to raise $1 million for inclusive outdoors groups. Last May, she demonstrated against the current presidential administration’s anti-trans policies by flying the largest trans flag ever displayed in a national park. Last February, she also gave a historic TED Talk in drag on why joy is critical to political resistance.
In 2024, the current presidential administration featured her in a hateful political ad — she used the ad to raise $15,000 for trans people. In November 2023, iconic cellist Yo-Yo Ma worked with her and a transgender singer on an inspiring song about the climate.
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