The Girl Scouts filed a federal trademark lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block the Boy Scouts from rebranding itself as “Scouts BSA.”
The Girl Scouts, called GSUSA in the filing, claim the move by the Boy Scouts will ‘marginalize’ the female organization and ‘erode its core brand identity.’ The Boy Scouts announced in May that it was changing its name to "Scouts BSA,” with members known as ‘Scouts.’
‘Since BSA’s announcement that it would admit girls to its core programs, GSUSA’s fears about the damage that would be caused to its trademarks and the mission those trademarks symbolize have been realized,’ according to the complaint filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. ‘Throughout the country, families, schools and communities have been told that GSUSA and BSA have merged, or even that GSUSA no longer exists. Parents interested in signing up for Girl Scouts programs have instead mistakenly signed up for the new girls’ programs offered by BSA.’
Reportedly, the Boy Scouts didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Girl Scouts are looking for a court order to block the Boy Scouts from using the terms “Scout,” “Scouts,” “Scouting,” or “Scouts BSA” without an inherently distinctive or distinguishing term appearing before it.
“A distinguishing term” like, maybe, a gender? Just maybe.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District court in the Southern District of New York and should be worth watching.