Patagonia Inc., an outdoor apparel company known for its commitment to conservation efforts, filed suit on Monday against a Colorado-based retailer for trademark and copyright infringement claims over its pro-oil and gas industry “Petrogonia” apparel.
Patagonia alleges that OC Media LLC is selling apparel with a logo that closely mimics Patagonia’s mountain silhouette logo. OC Media has replaced the mountain silhouette imagery with oil field imagery: specifically, machinery associated with oil wells. The word “Petrogonia” also appears on the clothing in a font nearly identical to Patagonia’s word trademark.
According to the complaint, which was filed in California federal court, OC Media “provides networking events and a full-service digital marketing agency focused on the oil and gas industry.” OC Media promotes, markets and sells apparel and accessory products bearing the Petrogonia Design through its website under a category titled “Petrogonia Collection,” and through related social media accounts and websites, primarily oilconnect.co.
Patagonia is known for its environmentally conscious business initiatives, including its efforts to use organically grown cotton and its refusal to sell its corporate logo vests to companies it views as “ecologically damaging.” The retailer owns numerous registrations for the Patagonia trademark, listing eight in the complaint. For years, Patagonia has spent a significant amount of time and money promoting its products, and according to the complaint, OC Media’s design has caused or will cause dilution of its famous and distinctive marks.
“In blatant disregard of Patagonia’s rights in the ‘Patagonia’ trademarks, and without authorization from Patagonia, OC started manufacturing, promoting, offering for sale, and selling apparel products and accessories bearing the ‘Petrogonia’ name and brand, together with a design that is nearly identical to the P-6 logo (the Petrogonia Design),” said the filing.
In addition to its trademark infringement, copyright infringement, unfair competition, and trademark dilution claims, the retailer is also requesting injunctive relief to bar continued sales of the allegedly infringing products, as well as unspecified damages and lost profits.
The suit is Patagonia Inc v. OC Medial LLC, Case No. 2:20-c-01321, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
This isn’t Patagonia’s first trademark infringement case in the Central District of California. In 2019, it brought suit against beer behemoth Anheuser Busch, LLC, for its craft beer called “Patagonia Cerveza.”