Patagonia’s lawsuit against Pattie Gonia is a federal trademark infringement case filed by the outdoor apparel company in January 2026 against Wyn Wiley, the drag performer and climate activist who uses that stage name. The company says Wiley’s merchandise and her trademark application for “PATTIE GONIA” confuse consumers and infringe its brand; Wiley says the name is her identity, not an imitation. As of June 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has sent the case to mediation.1Law.com. What the Pattie Gonia Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Can Teach Us About Current Enforcement Trends
What Patagonia Is Claiming
The suit, Patagonia, Inc. v. Entrepreneur Enterprises, Inc. (No. 2:26-cv-00586), was filed on January 21, 2026, in the Central District of California.2Bloomberg Law. Patagonia Sues Drag Queen Pattie Gonia Over Activists Trademark The complaint alleges that Wiley’s branded apparel and merchandise, including stickers with a mountain silhouette, mimic Patagonia’s products and cause consumer confusion. Patagonia attached screenshots to the filing that it says show buyers actually confusing the two.3Los Angeles Times. Patagonia Trademark Lawsuit Triggers Backlash by Drag Queen Pattie Gonia
Patagonia is asking for only $1 in damages plus attorneys’ fees. A spokesperson said the suit “is not about seeking financial gain, nor is it about challenging anyone’s identity or right to advocacy, protest, or creative expression,” but that the company “must protect our business and employees.”4ABC7 News. Drag Queen Activist Pattie Gonia Asks Patagonia Drop Trademark Lawsuit
The company traces the conflict to early 2022, when it says its lawyer contacted Wiley’s team about planned partnerships with Hydroflask and The North Face. According to the complaint, Patagonia asked that Wiley not use its logos, fonts, or similar designs, and not use “Pattie Gonia” on any products, and that Wiley and her manager agreed. The filing acknowledges the representatives did not say “I agree” but instead replied that they would “keep note of it.”5Ventura County Star. Patagonia Pattie Gonia Trademark Lawsuit What pushed Patagonia to court, per its filings, was Wiley’s launch of a “Pattie Gonia” apparel line in late 2024 and her USPTO application on September 21, 2025 to register “PATTIE GONIA” in five classes covering clothing, marketing, and entertainment.6Legalish. Patagonia v Pattie Gonia Trademark
What Pattie Gonia Says
Wyn Wiley, who performs as Pattie Gonia and has raised more than $3.7 million for environmental and LGBTQ+ nonprofits over eight years, disputes both the scope of the 2022 exchange and the underlying infringement claim.719th News. Drag Queen Pattie Gonia Environmental Climate Activist “That wasn’t a broad agreement about my future,” she told reporters, adding that she told Patagonia during a 2022 call the name was inspired by the South American region, not the company. Any visual similarities in fonts or logos, she said, were “fan art” that was never sold.8New York Times. Pattie Gonia Patagonia Trademark Lawsuit
The suit stayed quiet until May 27, 2026, when Wiley posted a video and open letter to CEO Ryan Gellert, the board, and the company’s Purpose Trust trustees, calling the case “a corporation trying to erase an activist” and asking leadership to “intervene and drop this lawsuit today.”9Yahoo News. Patagonia Suing Pattie Gonia She wrote that the litigation could cost her a million dollars in legal fees and could shut down her operations, and quoted founder Yvon Chouinard: “You are what you do, not what you say you are.”10Pattie Gonia. Patagonia Open Letter Wiley has filed court documents denying the allegations and demanding a jury trial.8New York Times. Pattie Gonia Patagonia Trademark Lawsuit
Where the Two Sides Are Stuck
Patagonia has said it will drop the case if Wiley does three things: withdraws her trademark applications, stops using the company’s mountain landscape logo, and stops selling or promoting apparel and products under the “Pattie Gonia” name.8New York Times. Pattie Gonia Patagonia Trademark Lawsuit The company says it tried to resolve the issue through dialogue for more than three years before suing.11Patagonia Works. Protecting Our Brand Update on Trademark Activity
Wiley has agreed to stop using any parody of the Patagonia logo and font and has moved her merchandise site from pattiegoniamerch.com to pattiemerch.com.12Altoona Mirror. Consumer Confusion Drag Queen and Climate Activist Faces Lawsuit From Apparel Brand She has offered to withdraw her trademark application if Patagonia drops the suit. What she will not agree to is dropping the name “Pattie Gonia” on merchandise, and she denies her products ever used Patagonia’s logo, font, or brand elements, describing any resemblance as “playful parody.”13GearJunkie. Drag Queen Pattie Gonia Responds Patagonia Drop Lawsuit That is the gap: Patagonia wants the name off apparel; Wiley will not give up the name.
What Trademark Lawyers Say About the Merits
Alexandra J. Roberts, a trademark professor at Northeastern University, said Patagonia faces a “high hurdle” on its central claim of likelihood of consumer confusion. She noted that “Patagonia” is a geographic term while “Pattie Gonia” is structured as a personal name, which may lead consumers to expect multiple unaffiliated users rather than a connection.14Them. Pattie Gonia Patagonia Trademark Lawyers
Trademark attorney Carmel Imani of Imani Law took the other side, pointing to the screenshots of actual consumer confusion in Patagonia’s complaint as “the best evidence” available in trademark litigation. She argued that not defending the mark in the clothing category could weaken Patagonia against future competitors using similar-sounding names. Roberts and Harvard Law professor Rebecca Tushnet were both skeptical of Patagonia’s dilution claim, with Roberts noting the marks are not identical.14Them. Pattie Gonia Patagonia Trademark Lawyers
What Happens Next
The court referred the case to mediation on June 8, 2026. If the parties cannot bridge the gap over the name itself, legal observers say the case could proceed to the jury trial Wiley has demanded.15KQED. Patagonia Sued Pattie Gonia Now Fans Want the Company to Back Down