Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, is suing an LGBTQ+ travel startup for using the word “scout” in its name.

As The Advocate reports, Scouting America filed its lawsuit against Toro International LLC and Q Tours LLC in federal court in Texas late last month. It accuses the Arizona-based companies’ owner, Sam Castañeda Holdren, of trademark infringement and unfair competition related to the name of one of his brands, Queer Scout, and its uses of a pink fox image in its logo, according to The Arizona Republic.

Related

Scouting America clarifies that their deal with Pete Hegseth doesn’t ban trans kids

Queer Scout offers travel experiences for LGBTQ+ adults in Colombia, including bar crawls and boat tours. But Scouting America alleges that the brand’s use of the word “scout” in its name dilutes the organization’s trademarks, and that both its name and its use of its fox logo are meant to intentionally confuse customers by falsely associating it with the youth organization.

As The Arizona Republic notes, Scouting America cites its “similar” services and prominent use of animal imagery in its own logos and marketing materials.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

But as Holdren told The Advocate, “It’s really difficult to see how anyone could realistically confuse an LGBTQ tourism brand called Queer Scout with a youth scouting organization.”

“We’re a small LGBTQ-owned travel company for adults, and our name clearly signals we’re not affiliated with Scouting America or any youth scouting organization,” he told The Arizona Republic.

The lawsuit represents an escalation on Scouting America’s part in what The Arizona Republic describes as a years-long battle in which the two parties have failed to privately resolve the dispute. Holdren told the outlet that he’s suspicious of the lawsuit’s timing.

In early February, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth threatened to cut all of his department’s funding and support of Scouting America unless it agreed to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives “and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances.” The organization had reportedly been quietly negotiating changes with Hegseth’s department since January, and late last month, Hegseth announced that Scouting America had agreed to dissolve its DEI committee and that membership would be based solely on “biological sex at birth” rather than gender identity.

While Scouting America has reportedly agreed to require potential scouts to list their sex assigned at birth on their membership applications and to maintain sex-segregated spaces like restrooms and tents based on sex assigned at birth, the organization later clarified that it would continue to welcome trans young people in its program.  

“When you combine that timing with the fact that hundreds of businesses have used the word ‘scout,’ it starts to look less like consumer confusion and more like something broader involving identity and visibility,” Queer Scout’s Holdren told The Arizona Republic.

Holdren’s lawyer, Jeremy Kapteyn, meanwhile, told The Advocate that while the timing raises questions, he believes Scouting America would have brought its lawsuit regardless of pressure from the presidential administration.

Kapetyn noted that more than 100 federal trademark registrations that include the term ‘scout’ are currently used in commerce, so Scouting America’s claim to exclusive rights to use the term may be limited. He also cited the organization’s own previous legal argument that the phrase “Girl Scouts” is distinct from Scouting America’s trademarks.

“Queer Scout is at least as distinct, if not more, than Girl Scouts,” he said.

However, Kapetyn also admitted that in trademark disputes, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, an organization with Scouting America’s resources has a significant advantage over a small company like Holdren’s.

Nevertheless, Holdren intends to fight. “I’ve been bullied my whole life,” he said. “I don’t want to back down if I don’t have to.”

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.