Pattie Gonia, a nationally touring drag queen, entrepreneur and activist for LGBTQ and environmental causes, has been sued by Patagonia, the outdoor brand, for six claims of trademark infringement.
The company is seeking a jury trial and damages of $1.
The lawsuit may complicate Pattie Gonia’s upcoming national drag show tour, which will visit nearly 20 American cities, beginning in Chicago on March 17.
Pattie Gonia is a national celebrity, having been recognized by “Time” magazine among its list of Next Generation Leaders in 2023. The following year, in which Pattie appeared on the cover of the Source, she was also named Traveler of the Year by “National Geographic.”
In standard drag tradition, Pattie Gonia (né Wyn Wiley, a Bend resident) assumed an ironic stage moniker. In this instance, according to court documents, that inspiration came not from famous outdoor brand, but the South American region around which Patagonia established its brand identity half a century ago.
This brouhaha isn’t exactly new to either party.
In 2022, Pattie and Patagonia reached an agreement that Pattie could continue with the Pattie Gonia persona in service of advocacy, yet not commercial purposes, such as selling stickers and t-shirts that feature riffs on Patagonia’s logos and typeface.
According to court documents obtained by the Source, Pattie applied for a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2025 for the exclusive right to the brand Pattie Gonia, “for among other things, apparel, online marketing services, promoting public awareness of and motivational speaking services in support of environmental sustainability and LGBTQIA2S+ equality, organizing community sporting and cultural events, organizing, arranging, and conducting trail and hiking events, entertainment services in the nature of live musical performances, and music recordings.”
Merchandise of that nature appeared on the Pattie Gonia webstore, pattiegoniamerch.com, according to the complaint. The inventory had been removed by Jan. 23.
By press time, Pattie had not responded to a request for comment.
The complaint continues: “The trademark application reflects Pattie Gonia’s departure from discrete use of a persona to engage in activism and confirms Defendants’ intent instead to launch a wide-ranging commercial enterprise under the PATTIE GONIA brand. This enterprise contradicts Defendants’ prior promises and appropriates Patagonia’s brand and identity in a way that has already confused consumers, and will continue to confuse consumers, about Patagonia’s role in producing or sponsoring Pattie Gonia’s products, events and public appearances.”
Patagonia provided screengrabs of customer comments in which they confused Pattie Gonia with the clothing brand.
Patagonia posted a note to its website on Jan. 21 regarding the lawsuit: “While we wish we didn’t have to do this — and actually 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.”
The drama began in February 2022, when Bend-born Hydroflask contacted Patagonia to make sure the clothing brand didn’t object to a collaboration with Pattie Gonia, according to court documents.
Patagonia was like, ‘huh?’
The three parties met to talk about restrictions on Pattie’s use of “Pattie Gonia” to protect against confusion about the source of products or advocacy tied to Pattie Gonia, according to the complaint. An agreement was reached that Pattie wouldn’t sell Pattie Gonia-branded products or used fonts or designs to that copy, or are substantially similar to, those of Patagonia.
In early 2025, Patagonia’s representatives noticed that Pattie was selling Pattie Gonia-branded clothing on the website. The outdoor company asked Pattie to abide by the 2022 agreement and stop.
Patagonia filed a complaint in U.S. District Court of the District of Central California because Pattie had performed in character in the district, also selling branded gear at merch tables and appearing in several episodes of “Go Gently”, which Pattie hosted and filmed there. Patagonia is also based in Ventura, Calif.
In emails included in the court documents, Patagonia’s team reached out to Pattie in February 2025: “I am writing, somewhat more formally this time, to stress again how important it is to Patagonia that Pattie Gonia maintain their identity as a persona, but not to use that persona in connection with commercial sales or advertising of products. Trademark law requires Patagonia to affirmatively protect its trademarks against all potential infringement even where the company is aligned with the purpose and goals of Pattie Gonia the persona.”
In court documents, Patagonia provides examples of similar trademark infringement by hate groups, for example, that they’ve put the kabosh on.
In an email dated Feb. 14, Pattie and business partner Jenny Dugan replied that the allegations were incorrect, stating that “Patte Gonia” is inspired by the same South American region as Patagonia, the outdoor company. Pattie also insisted that the products that reference the Patagonia typeface and logo were done as fan art and were never sold. Additionally, Pattie wrote that she intended to, “avoid any perceived association with the brand Patagonia” because Patagonia, through the subsidiary Lost Arrow Project, makes tactical outerwear and protective equipment for the U.S. government and police departments.
According to the complaint, Pattie subsequently restocked a full line of Pattie Gonia clothing and filed a trademark application in September 2025 for “Pattie Gonia Brand.” Patagonia calls it “a competing and confusing brand, used to sell many of the same types of products and services that Patagonia has offered for decades.”
This article appears in the Source January 29, 2026.
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