Boy Scouts Demand Girl Scouts Lawsuit Over 'Scouts' Trademark Be Dismissed

The Boy Scouts of America is not having it with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America and their accusations that they are ripping them off and are demanding their lawsuit be thrown out.

On January 23, the Boy Scouts filed docs moving to dismiss the case filed by the Girl Scouts, in which they accused the Boy Scouts of infringing on their trademark.

The organization states, “The BSA is one of the most iconic non-profit organizations in the United States, preparing this nation’s youth for more than 100 years to make good ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes. The BSA has been using its registered and common law trademarks in SCOUTS and SCOUTING (among other marks) in connection with services for boys and girls for nearly 50 years.”

The Boy Scouts say that despite this longstanding use of the phrase, the Girl Scouts now seek to prohibit them from calling its own members "scouts," "[S]imply because the BSA has begun welcoming girls into two more of its youth programs."

They add, "Thus, the core of GSUSA’s case goes to the question of whether the BSA’s use of its SCOUTS and SCOUTING marks in connection with offering services to all young people (as it has done for decades) somehow now infringes or dilutes GSUSA’s rights in its GIRL SCOUTS-related marks. It does not."

The court docs note, “In fact, girls have unofficially been joining their brothers in Cub Scout meetings for many years and were commonly referred to as 'tag-a-longs.' Those girls and their older sisters have asked whether the only reason they could not participate is because they are girls. The BSA believes that the time has come for those girls to choose whether they want to officially become part of the BSA’s Scouting family of members.”

The Boy Scouts want the entire case dismissed.

As The Blast first reported, The Girl Scouts of the United States of America sued the Boy Scouts of America in a federal lawsuit filed in New York.

According to the documents, the Girl Scouts are upset that since the Boy Scouts began allowing girls into their organization, they have commonly referred to themselves as just Scouts.

GS said that is a huge problem because they own the trademark for not only “Girl Scouts” but for “Scouts” in general, related to “leadership development services for girls.”

In the documents, GS said they do not want to be associated with the Boy Scouts, especially considering their history of “acts of misconduct perpetrated by some of its leaders over the years.”

Furthermore, GS said, “Parents interested in signing up for GIRL SCOUTS programs have instead mistakenly signed up for the new girls’ programs offered by [Boy Scouts of America].”

They claimed that many families and communities have been told the two organizations merged, but that is not the case.

GS sued for an injunction against BS from using Scouts, all the profits made using their trademarked slogan and also to collect other damages.