Patagonia and Gap resolve legal dispute with settlement agreement

Patagonia and Gap have resolved their legal dispute over designing and marketing a fleece pullover.

Patagonia and Gap have resolved their legal dispute over designing and marketing a fleece pullover. The lawsuit accused Gap of infringing on Patagonia's trademark by copying the design of the Snap-T fleece and Patagonia's mountain logo. Patagonia filed the lawsuit in November in the US District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. In its lawsuit, Patagonia claimed that Gap intentionally used patterns and logos in their fleece pullover that imitate Patagonia's products.

On Tuesday, US District Judge Trina L. Thompson approved a settlement agreement. The terms of the agreement are undisclosed. Gap's actions "could have caused confusion among consumers regarding the source of the product or whether it was sponsored or affiliated with Patagonia," the outdoor retail company argued in court documents.

Patagonia stated that it had previously warned Gap to stop copying its designs and trademarks. In court documents, Patagonia also claimed that Gap started using its logo and fleece design long after Patagonia first introduced it in 1985, which was a "deliberate and conscious" decision.

Specifically, Patagonia alleged various federal and California trademark law violations and unfair competition. In turn, Gap countersued, seeking a judge's ruling that Patagonia's Snap-T fleece design was not protected by law. Patagonia sought a jury trial, an injunction ordering Gap to stop selling the products in question, and monetary compensation.

Recently Patagonia initiated a new lawsuit against Nordstrom in the Los Angeles federal court, accusing the department store of selling counterfeit Patagonia clothing through its Rack stores.

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