whomst the fuck

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Reblogs are greatly appreciated!

Making this post since my family and I are in a very urgent situation and bumping on any of my other stuff hasn't helped us at all. For those who don't know me, my name's Link and my father and I have been homeless since November 2021. Around the same time, I was with a friend who's grandmother unfortunately was getting into later stages of dementia and since she didn't have any say in the house after, it was being foreclosed. My father also fell into a diabetic coma, thankfully got out of it but lost his trucking job in the process. None of our family would help and I didn't have other friends to lean on for living/financial support. We also didn't have our proper documents and with my father and is health issues and transportation issues, it made it tough to find a stable job. So, I began doing commissions to keep us in a motel. We stayed at a shelter for a while before we were unexpectedly kicked out last year and dumped back at another motel. We were told it was paid off for a month but that was a lie, instead just only a week.

Jumping back to now, we haven't been able to pay for the room in three days, this one being our third and we are at high risk of being on the street and kicked out before 9pm tonight. I've tried calling places near me for support, shelters and etc. but they're mainly taking either DV survivors and women with kids, or strictly cis men. We've also been turned away due to us being homeless for so long.

I've been doing my best to bump posts and spread awareness but we haven't been able to get any help at all and I fear we're going to be forced on the streets with nowhere to go. I've been in that situation before and I really hope we won't have to be.

I completely understand if you can't donate/help directly, it's a tough time for everyone even those who are housed. Just spreading the word and reblogging would mean so much and helps me in finding someone who can help potentially. If you are interested in donating (some folks rather do that then full on comm-ing sometimes) then you can here or pm me for my details. If you wish to commission me, please feel free to do so! It helps my family and I out so so much, you have no idea :") I'll have my prices below and for any comm inquiries/questions, feel free to pm me here or email me at [email protected]!

Weird Al is allowed to parody everything because he's operating under copyright law, not trademark law.

Trademark governs who can "trade" under what "mark" i.e. the brand identity of a company. Companies don't own their trademarked word forever, but they maintain the exclusive right to sell things under that brand in their specific market sector. Patagonia doesn't own the name of a geographical region, they just own the right to be the only company using that name to sell clothing and outdoor gear.

A drag queen name can be a parody of a clothing and outdoor gear company.

A company's trademarked logo can be used in parody creative works, with more leeway if it's not for commercial purposes. Trademark parody is allowed! Patagonia has been aware of and allowed Pattie Gonia's trademark parody for years.

Trademarks are specific to market sector. Actress Chase Infiniti could start a makeup line named after herself and her trademark would not infringe on the Infiniti car brand because they are different markets and there is no risk of confusion. Pattie Gonia could probably trademark her name to sell frozen veggie burgers and Patagonia would not care.

Drag queen Jan Sport did a collab with JanSport bags. What Jan Sport almost certainly did not do is independently apply to register "Jan Sport" as a trademark in order to sell bags on her own, because that would infringe on JanSport's own trademark in the bag market sector.

What Pattie Gonia is not allowed to do -- the thing that Pattie Gonia actually did do and is being sued for -- is apply to register "Pattie Gonia" as a trademark to sell clothing, because apparently Pattie is in talks with North Face and HydroFlask to sell "Pattie Gonia"-branded gear. These companies probably won't finalize anything unless Pattie shows that she actually owns the trademark. Unfortunately, "Patagonia" is already a registered trademark in the clothing market sector, and these two names are too similar to exist in the same sector (see: "likelihood of confusion" legal standard).

Your drag queen name can parody a clothing company. You can parody the trademarked logo of a clothing company. But you cannot use the same name to then go on to also become a clothing company.

In order to maintain their own trademark, Patagonia must sue for trademark infringement. If they don't sue, and Pattie Gonia gets her own trademark, Pattie could sue Patagonia for infringement on her trademark. You can see why Patagonia won't be dropping this suit no matter how much you harass them.

The new conflict is from Pattie Gonia using the Patagonia imagery and the Pattie Gonia name on her own merchandise. This is the email Patagonia sent, with the images they feel conflict with the 2022 agreement.

Pattie responded to that by disagreeing that she had broken any agreement, and also obliquely threatening to expose Patagonia for making tactical gear for the US military?

Pattie selling shit with her stage name on it Really Obviously isn’t going to have any negative effect on the continued lining of Patagonia CEO pockets, as if that even fucking matters, and no amount of waxing poetic about “well they have to 🥺🥺🥺” is going to make me say anything other than “fucking stupid if true then”.

In terms of whose pockets are being lined:

Rather than selling the company or taking it public, Mr. Chouinard, his wife and two adult children have transferred their ownership of Patagonia, valued at about $3 billion, to a specially designed trust and a nonprofit organization. They were created to preserve the company’s independence and ensure that all of its profits — some $100 million a year — are used to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the globe.

The unusual move comes at a moment of growing scrutiny for billionaires and corporations, whose rhetoric about making the world a better place is often overshadowed by their contributions to the very problems they claim to want to solve.

At the same time, Mr. Chouinard’s relinquishment of the family fortune is in keeping with his longstanding disregard for business norms, and his lifelong love for the environment.

(NYT Gift Link)

Since 2022, 100% of Patagonia's profits have gone to climate and environmental causes. They have completely restructured the ownership of the company so that this will continue in perpetuity.

The reason Patagonia has to defend their trademark has nothing to do with how much Pattie's merch might compete with or take away from Patagonia's sales.

It's because if Patagonia doesn't defend their trademark now, it means they lose the right to defend that trademark against shit like this:

You don't get to pick and choose based on whether you agree with the cause of the person who is filing for an infringing trademark.