Litigation

Trademark Protection & Enforcement Group Head Liz Sbardellati spoke with the Source about the trademark dispute between drag queen Pattie Gonia and outdoor brand Patagonia.

Excerpts:

Elizabeth Sbardellati, an attorney who heads Greenberg Glusker’s Trademark Protection & Enforcement Group, told the Source that this lawsuit has made national waves for several reasons, not least of which is the high profile of Patagonia and Pattie’s savvy public relations strategy, which has brought this spat before the court of public opinion.

“Patagonia is famously a values-driven brand,” Sbardellati said. “Pattie is really using that to drive this into the media — she’s aligned herself with those [environmentalism and equity] values for a long time.”

Sbardellati says a coexistence trademark agreement between Patagonia and Pattie Gonia might be the best solution.

“Lawsuits aren’t necessarily won or lost in the courthouse, and public opinion matters a lot, particularly with a brand like Patagonia,” Sbardellati said. “Maybe Patagonia could even leverage Pattie’s activism in some way — expand the pie for everyone.”