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Patagonia Sues Online Apparel Seller Over Alleged Trademark Infringement

T-Shirt AT Fashion LLC is also facing a lawsuit from Trader Joe’s in connection with allegations of trademark infringement on graphic tees and other products.

The same online apparel seller that grocery chain Trader Joe’s has sued for alleged trademark infringement is also facing a lawsuit from Patagonia over trademark claims, court records show.

Patagonia has filed a complaint against T-Shirt AT Fashion LLC, saying the web-based retailer of graphic T-shirts and other apparel has been selling imprinted wearables – at least one of which is a tee featuring a profane phrase – that blatantly violate trademarks held by the outdoors-inspired clothing brand.

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Similar to the Trader Joe’s case, the Patagonia suit asserts that vagaries shroud T-Shirt AT Fashion. Court papers indicate that the company’s corporate status is unknown, and the firm allegedly sells graphic apparel online through multiple ecommerce stores under various aliases. Nice Frog Tees, Meomeo Shirt, and Tee Hand US are among the aliases named in both suits.

The suits also say T-Shirt AT Fashion gives addresses in Texas, but the Trader Joe’s complaint asserts that a business under the “T-Shirt AT Fashion” name is not registered with the Texas Secretary of State.

In the Patagonia case, one alleged trademark-violating T-shirt features the Patagonia logo with an explicit phrase written in what’s essentially the same white typeface used for the real Patagonia nameplate.

The phrase is printed just below a black silhouette depiction of Monte Fitz Roy, with blue, violet and orange shades depicting the sky above the peaks – all a precise replication of the real Patagonia logo, other than the offensive phrase, the suit says.

Another T-shirt features the phrase “Catagonia” and substitutes cat silhouettes for the peaks, setting them against the Patagonia sky logo. An additional tee says “Wakanda” – the mythical homeland of the “Black Panther” character in the Avengers movies series. The “Wakanda” is again in Patagonia typeface and backdropped by the sky portion of the Patagonia logo.

“Patagonia…believes that the defendant has marketed and sold substantial quantities of products bearing the T-shirt AT Fashion designs and has profited and continues to profit from such sales,” the lawsuit states.

The filing continues: “Defendant also has worked with third-party sellers to produce, market and sell substantial quantities of products bearing T-shirt AT Fashion designs. To the extent such cooperation has occurred between defendant and third-party sellers, defendant has been involved in both the production and sale of such products and is liable for damage caused to Patagonia and its brand. There is no doubt that T-shirt AT Fashion’s conduct has been willful, as T-shirt AT Fashion adopted counterfeit imitations of the Patagonia trademarks as part of its own branding.”

The Patagonia suit asks a judge to prohibit T-Shirt AT Fashion and its aliases from selling the alleged offending products. It also requests that damages be awarded and that the web-based apparel retailer be forced to turn over any inventory of the allegedly trademark-breaking garments to Patagonia.