The South Butt
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry |
|
| Founded | May 2007[1] |
| Founder | James A. Winkelmann |
| Defunct | June 2011 |
| Fate | Terminated/Canceled[1] |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products |
|
| Owner | James A. Winkelmann |
The South Butt, LLC was an American clothing and accessories company founded in May 2007 by Jimmy Winkelmann Sr. and Jr., the latter of whom was at the time a 16-year-old student at Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis, Missouri.[2][3] The South Butt dissolved in June 2011.[1]
Winkelmann Jr. claimed the company was a parody of The North Face, an American outdoor product company.[4] In August 2008, The North Face sent a cease and desist letter to Winkelmann threatening to sue him if he did not "cease all promotion and sales of South Butt products and abandon his trademark registration application."[5] According to The North Face, his "use of the South Butt & design mark and the Never Stop Relaxing tagline [was] not defensible as a parody[.]" The North Face sought an amicable resolution of the matter, voluntary abandonment of the pending trademark application, and immediate discontinuance of the company's name, mark, and tagline. In response, Winkelmann offered to sell his company to The North Face for $1 million, an offer that he later rescinded as The South Butt grew.
In December 2008, The North Face filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against Winkelmann, The South Butt, and Williams Pharmacy, a company which handled the products' marketing and manufacturing details.[6] The court ordered mediation in the case, and on April 1, 2010, the parties reached a closed settlement agreement.[4] Two days later, Winkelmann Sr. formed a company called "Why Climb Mountains" which sold "The Butt Face" products.[3] In October 2012, the Winkelmanns admitted in court that they violated the settlement agreement with The North Face.[7] In addition, the court ordered them to abandon a trademark registration application for The Butt Face, shut down their web store and Facebook page, surrender all merchandise, and pay $65,000, an amount that would be reduced by $1,000 for every month of compliance.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Business Entity Search". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ Netter, Sarah (2009-10-01). "The North Face vs. The South Butt: Entrepreneurial Teen Undaunted by Lawsuit Threat". ABC News. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ a b Harris, Joe (2012-10-17). "South Butt Clothing Falls Off a Cliff". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
- ^ a b Billhartz Gregorian, Cynthia (2010-04-03). "North Face, South Butt reach agreement". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ Volkmann, Kelsey (2009-09-28). "St. Louis Business Journal: South Butt vs. North Face". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
- ^ Frankel, Todd C. (2009-12-15). "The North Face is suing The South Butt International clothing company accuses teen's Ladue-based operation of trademark infringement". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
- ^ Hines, Alice (2012-10-25). "The Butt Face, The North Face Spoof, Agrees To Halt Clothing Sales". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-02-10.