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Pattie Gonia is asking supporters to pressure the brand Patagonia\u00a0into dropping its lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Samuel Crossley<\/p>\n
A drag queen and climate activist from Oregon set the internet afire after speaking out about a lawsuit filed against her accusing her of trademark infringement. But\u00a0SFGATE spoke to lawyers who aren\u2019t convinced of the lawsuit\u2019s merit.<\/p>\n
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On Wednesday, Wyn Wiley, who goes by the stage name Pattie Gonia,\u00a0took to social media<\/a> to ask the public\u2019s help in urging Patagonia Inc., an outdoor recreation brand known for selling performance gear, apparel<\/a> and accessories, to drop a trademark infringement lawsuit the company filed in January. In the video,\u00a0Wiley said that though the company is suing for just $1, it could lead to over $1 million in legal fees if the complaint proceeds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cSince the lawsuit was filed, I\u2019ve stayed silent, courteous, and worked every channel I could to resolve this without going to court,\u201d Wiley said on TikTok. \u201cBut in the end, I had two choices, the erasure of my name, my advocacy, my community, and everyone I employ, or to fight for myself and to fight for us. So I am fighting, and I’m inviting you to join me in a simple call to action. Patagonia, drop the lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n @pattiegonia<\/a> <\/p>\n breaking my silence. today i\u2019m speaking publicly for the first time about the lawsuit patagonia inc. has filed against me pattie gonia, a climate activist, in federal court. this is not a joke. this is happening.<\/p>\n \u266c original sound – pattiegonia<\/a> <\/p>\n From Harmony to hostility<\/p>\n Patagonia filed a lawsuit against drag queen Pattie Gonia for trademark infringement.<\/p>\n Evan Benally Atwood<\/p>\n Wiley, a drag queen and environmentalist<\/a> who has raised over $3 million for climate and outdoor initiatives (in December as Pattie Gonia she\u00a0hiked 100 miles from Point Reyes to San Francisco), first ran into conflict with Patagonia in 2022 during a partnership\u00a0with Hydroflask<\/a>, a manufacturer of water bottles popular with outdoor enthusiasts. Hydroflask contacted Patagonia to iron out any potential issues with trademark infringement. Wiley agreed not to use \u201cPATTIE GONIA-branded products or using fonts or designs that copy, or are substantially similar to, Patagonia\u2019s logos,\u201d the lawsuit said.\u00a0However, Wiley argues that the details of that agreement were only for the Hydroflask partnership \u2014 not a longstanding agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI have never used their logo, font, or anything from their brand on our merch website,\u201d Wiley said in the video. \u201cInstead, the lawsuit cherry-picks a few examples of playful parody and fan art and tries to spin those into some kind of vast use of their logo. Drag is built on parody, puns and jokes, but I’m willing to never parody their logo ever again, aka never give them free PR ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n Wiley filed to trademark PATTIE GONIA in September 2025\u00a0in an effort to protect the stage name and seek \u201cownership of a PATTIE GONIA trademark to commercialize products, endorsements, marketing campaigns and advocacy,\u201d according to lawsuit filings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Patagonia said\u00a0in a January news release<\/a> that\u00a0the company is not against Pattie Gonia\u2019s creative expression, but takes issue with Wiley trademarking the name to sell merchandise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe want Pattie to have a long and successful career and make progress on issues that matter \u2013 but in a way that respects\u00a0Patagonia\u2019s intellectual property and ability to use our brand to sell products and advocate for the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Legal experts weigh in<\/p>\n Pattie Gonia has raised over $3 million for climate and outdoors initiatives.<\/p>\n Mitchell Overton<\/p>\n In the video, Wiley said the name Pattie Gonia does not come from the company Patagonia, but from Patagonia, a region and renowned outdoor travel destination in Argentina and Chile. The company also takes its name from the region. There are multiple theories about how the region was named. Some believe the region was\u00a0named due to 16th-century Spanish explorers<\/a> who called the indigenous Tehuelche people Patagones. Others say it\u2019s named after\u00a0a medieval monster named\u00a0Patagon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Alexandra Roberts, a law professor specializing in trademark, advertising and intellectual property at Northeastern University, told\u00a0SFGATE by phone Thursday\u00a0that the distinction is a key reason she doesn\u2019t believe Patagonia would face an uphill battle if the case were to go to court.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPattie Gonia says she was inspired by the Patagonia region, and her stage name is a reference to that and then her merchandise is tied to her persona and her kind of personal brand and her activism, \u2026 So to me, because there\u2019s that kind of geographic descriptive resonance and because the uses are pretty different, I am not as persuaded as a lot of people seem to be that\u00a0Patagonia has some kind of slam-dunk case,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n Mark McKenna, a professor of law at the UCLA Institute of Technology, Law and Policy, said that while the company may have basic legal standing, the likelihood of a consumer getting confused between the two brands would be slim, especially since the merchandise is directly connected to the Pattie Gonia persona that the company has not taken issue with.<\/p>\n \u201cIf people who are buying that merchandise know who the performer is, then it seems to me like the same reason that they wouldn\u2019t be confused about the performance would also translate to the merchandise,\u201d McKenna told SFGATE by phone Thursday.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Wiley\u2019s video, which has been\u00a0viewed 3 million times on TikTok<\/a> and has surpassed 306,000 likes on Instagram<\/a>, sparked widespread conversation on social media. Leah Thomas, who founded Intersectional Environmentalist<\/a>, a climate justice media platform, said the brand has missed out on an opportunity to collaborate.<\/p>\n \u201cWho is in your PR team? Who\u2019s on your marketing team? Who\u2019s advising you on cultural competency and things like that?\u201d Thomas said on TikTok<\/a>. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s time to investigate, because suing a drag queen, unless you\u2019re trying to appeal to a community that typically doesn\u2019t really invest in environmental activism, probably isn\u2019t going to be a good look.\u201d<\/p>\n But Polly for President, a drag queen who works in media and marketing, said drag queens have to be careful when including copyrighted phrases in their branding. Polly pointed to Trixie Mattel<\/a>, another popular drag queen, as an example who does not mention the brand name Mattel in any of her registered trademarks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are a drag performer and you want to name yourself after a parody of something, you should really go into the US if you\u2019re in the US trademark database and make sure that you\u2019re not naming yourself after something that\u2019s gonna run you into issues,\u201d Polly said on TikTok.<\/a> \u201cIt requires a little bit of research and creativity, but it\u2019s in your own best interest to sort of steer clear away from other brands and create clear distinction.\u201d<\/p>\n Stay informed, and entertained.<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the TikTok video, Wiley called on viewers to ask Patagonia, \u201cin a classy, respectful and peaceful way,\u201d to drop the lawsuit. Wiley also said the company is attempting to use its extensive funding and resources in a bullying way in a political environment where 529 anti-LGBTQ bills have seen movement in the United States<\/a> in 2026.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cPattie Gonia is one of the first things in my life that I am genuinely, deeply proud of, and the idea that this could all be taken away from me is my worst-case scenario, because if you\u2019ve ever created something that mattered to you, a name, a community, a version of yourself that finally felt real, then I think you know what that fear feels like,\u201d Wiley said in the video. \u201cMy name is Pattie Gonia. I chose it, I\u2019ve built it, I\u2019ve earned it, and I am not going anywhere. Patagonia, drop the lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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