Girl Scouts Sue Boy Scouts for Wanting to Become ‘The Scouts’

USA Today reports, “The Girl Scouts of the United States of America filed a trademark infringement lawsuit on Monday against the Boy Scouts of America for dropping the word ‘boy’ from its flagship program in an effort to attract girls.”

Remember the days when Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were the most non-controversial and innocent things you could think of? Not anymore.

“In the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, the Girl Scouts claim the program ‘does not have a right under either federal or New York law to use terms like scouts or scouting by themselves in connection with services offered to girls, or to rebrand itself as ‘the Scouts,'” USA Today continued.

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The complaint read:

“Such misconduct will not only cause confusion among the public, damage the goodwill of GSUSA’s Girl Scouts trademarks, and erode its core brand identity, but it will also marginalize the Girl Scouts Movement by causing the public to believe that GSUSA’s extraordinarily successful services are not true or official ‘Scouting’ programs, but niche services with limited utility and appeal.”

Does ‘The Scouts’ make it sound like the Girl Scouts no longer exist?

Apparently, the Girl Scouts have seen a decline in their numbers in recent years and view the Boy Scouts’ efforts to rebrand as moving in on their already-shrinking turf. Part of the Girl Scouts’ complaint is also that when people see “The Scouts” they assume that both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have combined as an organization when that is not the case.

“(T)hroughout the country, families, schools, and communities have been told that GSUSA and BSA have merged, or even that GSUSA no longer exists,” the complaint read. The Boy Scouts announced in May they would be dropping “boy” from their name.

Regardless of how this is settled, it is odd to see these historic youth organizations, so integral to many of our childhoods, going for each others’ throats.

As children, we learn that sticks and stones might break our bones, but words will never hurt us.

The Girl Scouts, apparently, disagree.