Who is right in the Pattie Gonia vs. Patagonia trademark dispute? To answer that question, you first have to understand why trademarks exist and what actually qualifies as infringement. Trademark laws help prevent confusion in the marketplace. For a company, its brand is everything. It’s what helps consumers decide whether they want to buy a product or service from you in the first place. At their core, trademark laws are designed around a simple question: Is there a likelihood of confusion for the consumer between one brand and another? Sometimes, large companies abuse these laws and bully smaller competitors (I’ve encountered my fair share of that over the years), but it also happens the other way around. Some knowingly infringe on trademarks to benefit from someone else’s hard work and reputation. This is a growing problem in the age of digital media. A lot of small businesses work really hard, to have others’ pretend to be them. Humans are often guided by a sense of fairness. W...