Patagonia filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Wyn Wiley — the drag environmentalist who performs as Pattie Gonia — on January 21 in federal court in Los Angeles, seeking a nominal $1 in damages plus legal fees; on May 27 Pattie Gonia released a video and an open letter asking the company to drop the claim.
Wyn Wiley, who performs under the name Pattie Gonia, has become a prominent climate activist with millions of followers and nearly $4 million raised for nonprofits; last year Wiley raised $1 million after hiking 100 miles in full drag from Point Reyes National Seashore to San Francisco. Patagonia is asking a judge not only for a finding of infringement but for an order blocking Wiley from selling merchandise it says would infringe on its mark and from receiving a federal Pattie Gonia trademark.
Patagonia says Wiley filed a trademark application in September to use the name Pattie Gonia to sell clothing and promote environmental activism and that the application would irreparably harm the company’s brand. The company says it tried over the past several years to find a path forward that would allow Pattie Gonia to continue their work while protecting the Patagonia trademark, including multiple proposals and ongoing dialogue, but could not reach an agreement.
Wiley has answered publicly. In the May 27 video and letter she said Patagonia was "trying to erase an activist" and that the company and its lawyers were willing to spend "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to grind her down so she could not continue to operate. Wiley denied ever using Patagonia’s branding, logo or font and wrote that "this is not a brand conflict" but, in her words, a fight over advocacy and identity; she added that "drag is built on parody, puns and jokes." Wiley also wrote that "over the last four months since the lawsuit was filed, I have stayed silent and worked every channel I had to resolve this without going to court."
Patagonia framed its filings differently. Company spokespeople said, "we wish we didn’t have to do this," and that the action is about protecting a trademark that, they said, "protects trust, purpose, and decades of work connected to environmental activism, product, storytelling and community impact." Patagonia told the court it was not seeking financial gain and that the dispute is not about challenging anyone’s identity or right to advocacy, protest, or creative expression; the company said it has a responsibility to protect the business generations of employees have helped build.
The friction is plain: Patagonia says it tried for years to craft a resolution and that a federal trademark for Pattie Gonia would create consumer confusion about sponsorship or production of products and events; Wiley says the suit seeks to erase her advocacy and that the company is weaponizing legal costs against an activist who has raised almost $4 million for nonprofits and gathered roughly 3 million followers. Both positions are now framed in court filings and in public statements.
The dispute is already in federal court in Los Angeles and the immediate consequence is litigation: Patagonia asked the judge to block Wiley from registering the name and from selling allegedly infringing merchandise, and Wiley has asked the public to press Patagonia to drop the suit. The clear outcome is that the question will be decided by the court, not by private negotiation — Patagonia could not reach an agreement despite what it describes as years of talks, and Pattie Gonia has put the fight back in public, calling on the company to withdraw its claims.
