Josh Gerben Analyzes the Patagonia v Pattie Gonia Lawsuit for NBC News

In January, Patagonia filed a federal trademark lawsuit against Pattie Gonia, a drag queen and environmentalist. Pattie Gonia released a statement on the lawsuit last week.

Josh Gerben analyzed the merits of the case. 

Trademark attorney Josh Gerben said that Pattie Gonia’s brand crossed into infringement the moment the trademark application was filed.

“Where you cross the line is when you start to sell your own branded merchandise using the Pattie Gonia name,” he said. “As the company, you’re saying, ‘Well, wait a second, this is now no longer a parody, you’re actually now making this a brand in and of itself, and that violates our rights.’”

Under U.S. law, trademark owners are required to police their trademarks.

“If they were just to allow Pattie Gonia to use this name in an unfettered way, they would actually potentially lose rights around the name,” he explained. “So the next person that came around that wanted to do something, they would point to (Pattie Gonia) and say, ‘You’re letting her sell shirts and you’re letting her do all this stuff.’”

Source: Burke, Minyvonne. https://www.nbcnews.com/. “Drag queen Pattie Gonia asks apparel company Patagonia to drop trademark infringement lawsuit”. 29 May 2026.