Update, 5:45 p.m.: In a public statement shortly after this story published, Backcountry announced it is withdrawing the lawsuit against Marquette Backcountry Ski.聽鈥淏ackcountry has never been interested in owning the word 鈥榖ackcountry鈥� or completely preventing anyone else from using it,鈥� CEO Jonathan Nielsen said in. 鈥淏ut we clearly misjudged the impact of our actions.鈥�
No one likes a bully, and in this age of cancel culture, the behavior can have dramatic consequences. When a dropped last week that online gear purveyor Backcountry.com was suing dozens of smaller brands for trademark infringement of the word 鈥渂ackcountry,鈥� the online reaction was swift. Since its formation Friday, the Facebook group has mushroomed to more than 12,000 members, all of them angry and discussing ways to spread the boycott.
According to and the聽Colorado Sun, early this year, several brands with lawsuits聽based on their 2007 trademark. Two years before that, Backcountry.com had started petitioning聽the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel those companies鈥� trademarks. Businesses included Backcountry Denim, , and even the company Constellation Outdoor Education, which trademarked the name Backcountry Babes for clinics offering women-focused avalanche education courses. Observers, including former Backcountry.com employees who wished to remain anonymous, believe that the lawsuits are tied to the company鈥檚 2018 launch of their own branded products.
In the last year, all three of the above targeted companies changed their names or came to some agreement with Backcountry.com鈥檚 lawyers. At least one company, Marquette Backcountry Ski, has chosen to fight, and activists have created . According to , Backcountry.com鈥檚 lawyers want three times the profits Marquette has accumulated since his company鈥檚 launch in 2010, as well as legal fees and a penalty. 鈥淒efendants鈥� actions were undertaken intentionally to obtain an unfair advantage over Backcountry and in conscious disregard of Backcountry鈥檚 rights, and were malicious, oppressive, and/or fraudulent,鈥� the lawsuit reads. owner David Ollila told the Sun that he鈥檚 obligated to fight, since he鈥檚 the head of a Flint, Michigan,聽 that unites students with entrepreneurs to develop business ideas.聽 鈥淗ow can I back down from this bullying,鈥� he says, 鈥渨hile at the same time I am telling everyone they need courage to pursue financial freedom and living on your own terms?鈥�
The hashtags #boycottbackcountry and #backcountryboycott have proliferated on Twitter, as has #scrapethegoat, a reference to people removing the company鈥檚 well-known goat logo sticker that comes packaged into nearly every purchase from the online retailer. Backcountry.com鈥檚 recent Facebook and Instagram posts, too, have been inundated by disapproving messages.
According to organizers of the Backcountry.com protests, vendors who sell products through Backcountry.com have also been raising questions, though none of those we contacted to confirm have yet responded to 国产吃瓜黑料. Through a spokesperson, Backcountry.com declined to comment on the issue.
Outdoor activists are angry at the seeming injustice of a company owned by private-equity TSG Consumer Partners using a large聽 trademark law firm, California鈥檚 IPLA Legal Advisors, to enter litigation with small companies who likely can鈥檛 afford the thousands of dollars it takes to defend themselves. 鈥淭rademarking backcountry is like trademarking camping or mountains. It belongs to the community and shall not be appropriated,鈥� .
Over the weekend, dozens of people messaged or called into Backcountry.com鈥檚 sales channels and protested the company鈥檚 behavior. Sales reps there responded that they鈥檇 been instructed not to comment on the situation. Several activists, including former employees, reminded Facebook users that the sales reps were not part of the decision making on legal issues, and shouldn鈥檛 be held responsible. Moderators removed posts that identified employees at the company, including screenshots of testy exchanges.
Jon Miller, one of the moderators for the Boycott BackcountryDOTcom Facebook page, says the group鈥檚 goals are to get the company to cease the lawsuits, or barring that, hit them hard during the upcoming Christmas shopping season. All publicity isn鈥檛 good publicity, he says, where online shopping is concerned. There are too many competitors just a click away. The group has now also registered the website boycottbackcountry.com.
Miller acknowledges that while aggressive trademark protectionism may be standard procedure in today鈥檚 corporate culture, it鈥檚 a very bad look for a company that serves a community recently primed for political action and social justice. 鈥淲e are all about climate and equity activism lately, so it鈥檚 a volatile mix,鈥� says聽Miller, who works as a brand and marketing consultant. 鈥淭hey really misjudged the community.鈥�