Scouting America Sues Queer Scout in Trademark Fight
The youth scouting group claims the LGBTQ travel company is diluting its trademarks and misleading consumers.
Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, sued an Arizona-based LGBTQ travel company called Queer Scout in late February, alleging the business is “diluting Boy Scouts’ famous trademarks and falsely associating with Boy Scouts.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, claims Queer Scout intentionally tried to confuse consumers by using the word “scout” and a pink fox logo in connection with social events, guided tours, and online marketing, according to The Arizona Republic.
An eagle set against a fleur-de-lis — not a fox — is the symbol most commonly associated with Scouting America. But in its complaint against Queer Scout, the organization argues that it offers “similar” services to the travel company and also “prominently uses names and images of animal figures.”
The lawsuit follows years of unsuccessful negotiations between Scouting America and Queer Scout to privately resolve the trademark dispute.
Sam Holdren, the founder of Queer Scout, has questioned whether the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity initiatives and LGBTQ inclusion — particularly recognition of transgender scouts’ gender identity — influenced the organization’s decision to sue.
“When you combine that timing with the fact that hundreds of businesses have used the word ‘scout,’ it starts to look less like consumer confusion and more like something broader involving identity and visibility,” Holdren told the Republic, referring to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s threat to sever ties with Scouting America if the organization didn’t abandon its diversity initiatives.
“It raises legitimate questions about what’s really driving this escalation,” he said.
Holdren, who lives part-time in Arizona, created Queer Scout to help gay travelers plan and book their own experiences in Colombia, borrowing the name from a since-shuttered Colombia-based business that arranged similar outings.
The company’s website offers tours and experiences for LGBTQ tourists in Medellin, Colombia, including bar crawls, a “gay Guatape boat tour,” and a “gay picnic and graffiti experience.” The site also prominently features pictures of topless men — something not typically associated with the Boy Scouts in any of its former or current iterations, given that the organization banned openly gay scouts and adult leaders for most of its history until 2013 and 2015, respectively.
“We’re a small LGBTQ-owned travel company serving adult travelers,” Holdren told the British newspaper The Independent. “It’s difficult to see how anyone could realistically confuse an LGBTQ tourism brand called ‘Queer Scout’ with a youth scouting organization.”
As reported by the Republic, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s searchable database shows more than 700 registered and pending trademarks involving the word “scout,” including several with animal logos. Yet Boy Scouts of America, Scouting America’s predecessor, has sued only one other entity in the past three years: a woman they claimed was buying websites using Boy Scouts’ branding, according to federal court filings.
Scott Armstrong, the director of national media relations and government affairs for Scouting America, brushed aside questions about whether the Trump administration’s recent actions were connected to the timing of the lawsuit, telling the Republic that the dispute with Queer Scout began years ago over “trademark (and) intellectual property, nothing more.”
Boy Scouts of America initially protested Holdren’s company, Toro International LLC, attempting to register the Queer Scout trademark in January 2024.
Jeremy Kapteyn, an attorney for Toro, told the Republic he offered to clarify to the Boy Scouts’ attorney that Queer Scout’s services were aimed at LGBTQ adults. The attorney was “initially receptive,” but the Boy Scouts rejected the proposed changes about a year ago.
“They noted that the BSA [which has since rebranded as Scouting America] had a policy of inclusivity that would encompass Toro’s target market for its services,” Kapteyn said.
If a judge sides with Scouting America, Holdren could be barred from using the “Queer Scout” name and may have to pay damages and attorneys’ fees. But Holdren argues the case is about more than a trademark dispute.
“This is about…whether we can express ourselves freely in the marketplace. They’re trying to use the law to silence us and take away our visibility,” Holdren said.
Scouting America declined to comment on the dispute, noting that it does not comment on active litigation.
Kapteyn told The Advocate that, given the number of federal trademark registrations that include the term “scout,” Scouting America’s claim to exclusive rights to the term may be limited.
In 2018, Girl Scouts sued the Boy Scouts of America over the use of the word “scout” to market co-ed youth programs. In that case, the Boy Scouts argued that the term was gender-neutral and thus wouldn’t confuse consumers with the gender-specific Girl Scouts. A federal judge sided with the Boy Scouts.
Kapteyn pointed to that decision — and the organization’s earlier legal argument — as evidence that Queer Scout, like the Girl Scouts, could be considered “distinct” from Scouting America’s trademarks. But he also noted that in trademark disputes — which can be costly — an organization like Scouting America, with far greater financial resources, may hold an advantage over a small company like his client’s.
But Holdren says he doesn’t want to give up without a fight. “I’ve been bullied my whole life,” he told The Advocate. “I don’t want to back down if I don’t have to.”
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