Patagonia sues surplus store over fake clothing

A chain of surplus and salvage stores in Maine, US, is defending claims from outdoor wear company Patagonia that it has been selling counterfeit versions of its jackets.

A lawsuit filed by Patagonia accuses Marden's of selling the fakes at one of its stores in Scarborough, claiming that its investigations uncovered around 90 suspect items at one time bearing "one or more reproductions of Patagonia's federally registered marks."

It also said that the retailer also displayed "dozens to several dozens" of the alleged counterfeits at various of its other Maine locations, including stores in Gray, Biddeford, and Sanford. The knock-offs are "of a vastly inferior quality to Patagonia’s genuine apparel products, causing further harm to Patagonia, its reputation and goodwill, and the Patagonia trademarks," according to the complaint.

Patagonia claims that Marden's has sold substantial quantities of the counterfeits, which in turn has misled consumers and caused serious damage to its reputation as a seller of quality apparel, and continues to profit from the activity.

In a Facebook post, Marden's said the company unknowingly purchased "mislabelled" down sweaters, which were invoiced as authentic Patagonia products.

The family-owned company added that it has removed all the disputed products, is aggressively looking into the matter, and is encouraging any customers who purchased one of these Patagonia down sweaters to return it for a full refund.

Patagonia's lawsuit alleges trademark counterfeiting and infringement, federal unfair competition, dilution of a famous mark, and copyright infringement. It is seeking an injunction on the sale of any unauthorised Patagonia products, a written notice of compliance within 30 days, restitution for lost profits and damages.