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Girls from Cub Scout Den 13, participate in a hike in McLean, Virginia. May 20, 2018. REUTERS/Greg Savoy
(Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America will urge a federal judge in Manhattan on Wednesday to end a trademark lawsuit filed by the Girl Scouts over its use of the word "Scout" to recruit girls, which it called a front in the Girl Scouts' "ground war" against it to counter the loss of its "monopoly" over girl scouting.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan will hear oral arguments on the Boy Scouts' motion for summary judgment, in which it argued that rebranding as "Scouts BSA" and advertising to girls won't cause confusion with the Girl Scouts.
The Boy Scouts announced in 2017 it would allow girls to join and unveiled an ad campaign promoting co-ed scouting called "Scout Me In" a year later. The Boy Scouts also announced in 2018 that it would change the name of its main scouting program to "Scouts BSA," and made the change in 2019.
The Girl Scouts sued the Boy Scouts for trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition in 2018, alleging the organization's use of "Scouts" and "Scouting" to market to girls violates its trademark rights.
The Girl Scouts claimed the rebrand threatened to "marginalize" it, and had already created confusion by causing families, schools and communities nationwide to incorrectly believe the Girl Scouts no longer existed or had merged with the Boy Scouts.
The Boy Scouts said in its summary judgment motion last year that the Girl Scouts see the increased competition from the BSA as an "existential threat" and admitted that "with Boy Scouts opening up their doors to girls, this means that girls who are having a bad experience [in Girl Scouts] have options."
The Boy Scouts said in a statement that it has been clear that the groups are separate organizations, and trusts that "families choose organizations for their children with great care." Rachel Kassabian of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan represents the Boy Scouts.
Girl Scouts attorney Bruce Ewing of Dorsey & Whitney declined to comment.
Both organizations have struggled with losing significant numbers of members recently. According to an Associated Press report from June, Boy Scouts membership declined nearly 43% from 2019 to 2020, and the Girl Scouts lost 30% of its membership over the same period -- in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic, though both groups' numbers have been declining for several years.
The Boy Scouts said in its motion that it has used the word "Scouting" alone to market co-ed programs for decades, and the lawsuit was designed to "put political pressure on the BSA at a time when GSUSA felt the BSA was vulnerable to attack."
The litigation has also caused the groups to "needlessly spend millions of dollars in legal fees and distract them from their respective missions," according to the motion.
The Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy last year to resolve sexual abuse allegations, and a judge recently approved an $850 million settlement of tens of thousands of sexual abuse claims against the group. The judge, however, rejected certain key parts of the deal, prompting the organization to resume negotiations with the abuse claimant groups and insurers.
The case is Girl Scouts of the United States of America v. Boy Scouts of America, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:18-cv-10287.
For the Girl Scouts: Bruce Ewing of Dorsey & Whitney.
For the Boy Scouts: Rachel Kassabian of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
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