L.L.Bean is taking the promotional products industry’s largest distributor to court.

The Maine-based retailer, a 113-year-old privately owned company that sells outdoors-focused products ranging from apparel and footwear to canoes, has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Counselor Top 40 distributor 4imprint (asi/197045) – a publicly traded billion-dollar branded merch business.

L.L.Bean accuses 4imprint of ripping off its “Boat and Tote” trademark, which the retailer has used in connection with canvas carryall bags that it has marketed and sold since 1965.

The suit said 4imprint markets and sells more than a dozen bags/products that are “virtually identical” to or in the same product category as the L.L.Bean Boat and Tote bags. Attorneys for L.L.Bean included, in the lawsuit, images of bags 4imprint sells that reference “Boat Tote” in the title.

4imprint’s actions are “an apparent effort to deliberately free ride on L.L.Bean’s well-known mark,” the lawsuit said.

L.L.Bean says that 4imprint’s (asi/197045) “Set Sail Boat Tote” and “Boat Tote Cooler” are among the products the distributor sells that infringe on L.L.Bean’s “Boat and Tote” trademark.

ASI Media has contacted 4imprint for comment. While the L.L. Bean suit shows images of products with "Boat Tote" branding from 4imprint's website, a search for "Boat Tote" on 4imprint's site this week showed no products with the term "boat" in the product name.

4imprint is the only company L.L. Bean is suing. A number of suppliers in the promo space carry bags with "Boat Tote" branding. 

L.L.Bean said it contacted 4imprint in January 2025 in an effort to get the promo products distributor to stop using the mark. That led nowhere, according to L.L.Bean.

“4imprint refused to cease its infringing use and continues to sell infringing goods,” the lawsuit said. “As a result, 4imprint’s conduct is intentional.”

And that’s causing L.L.Bean problems, according to the lawsuit. The retailer said consumers may mistakenly think the 4imprint products are L.L.Bean products and buy them, costing L.L.Bean sales. The suit notes that L.L.Bean’s products can be customized just as 4imprint’s can, causing further marketplace confusion and ultimately amounting to lost business for L.L.Bean and trademark infringement by 4imprint.

L.L.Bean “has exclusively used the [Boat and Tote] mark for more than 60 years, invested significant effort and expense to promote the mark and has sold millions of products bearing the mark, including millions of custom-embroidered bags,” the lawsuit states. “It is one of L.L.Bean’s most recognizable brands and most valuable assets. … 4imprint’s conduct has and will irreparably harm L.L.Bean and its substantial goodwill in the mark. It also has caused and will cause monetary harm.”

L.L.Bean is asking a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for Maine to declare that 4imprint has committed trademark infringement and related offenses, including deceptive trade practices. It’s asking that 4imprint be forced to give up any profits made in connection with the allegedly offending products and to pay damages.

Just-In: 4imprint may have hit a new single-company #promoproducts distributor sales record in 2024 but 2025 is off to a choppy start amid widespread economic concerns. Does that bellwether #merch industry performance more broadly?https://t.co/6giRHGK89e

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) March 12, 2025

L.L.Bean wants 4imprint prevented from ever selling Boat and Tote-marked products, and also desires that 4imprint be compelled to destroy “all labels, signs, prints, packages, wrappers, receptacles, and advertisements in 4imprint possession” bearing the Boat and Tote trademark.

Headquartered in London, U.K., 4imprint has its main operations in North America and generates the vast majority of its sales on this side of the Atlantic, doing so through an e-commerce business model. Based on reported 2023 North American promo product revenue of $1,302.6 billion, 4imprint ranked first on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.

4imprint reported in March that its North American sales increased 3% in 2024 compared to 2023, reaching $1,342.7 billion. Total sales across all geographies, which for 4imprint include North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, also rose 3% year over year, totaling $1,367.9 billion. Facing reported headwinds, 4imprint’s revenue at the order intake level was down slightly during the first two months of 2025 compared to the same time period in 2024, according to Chairman Paul Moody.

Trademark pros have filled ASI Media in on strategies for avoiding trademark infringement – and what to do if your marks have been infringed upon. One tip to avoid infringement? Engage in a trademark search in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).

“By entering prospective marks of interest in TESS, business owners can identify and eliminate highly similar marks from their short list,” said Derrick Davis, a trademark attorney, “which ultimately saves time and money in any legal fees to be incurred.”