The same day the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America waged a letter-writing campaign and threatened a boycott due to Urban Outfitter’s Saint Patrick’s Day merchandise, which include a growler labeled “Leprechaun Piss” and a trucker hat depicting a stick figure vomiting shamrocks, the Navajo Nation filed suit against the company for trademark infringement.
The tribe sent Urban Outfitters a cease and desist letter last June in response to their “Navajo” line, which used the word to describe everything from panties to hip flasks. While the company scrubbed all references to the term from their website in October, they still use it in their retail stores, catalog and through subsidiary brands like Free People, the suit filed yesterday alleges.
The Navajo Nation has at least 10 trademarks covering clothing, footwear and online sales and says that Urban’s alleged use of the word falsely insinuates a connection between the tribe and the merchandise sold according to the suit.
The “Vintage Loves” section of Free People’s website currently has several pieces of jewelry described as “Navajo,” including a cuff that purports to have been “originally sold at a trading post.”
