What do you do when you have a new business? And it’s going great? And you want a trademark? Well, you seek out a trademark. Sounds pretty easy, right? Get a lawyer and go through the process. The creators behind OUT in Colombia – known on paper as Toro International, LLC – are desiring to take their successful QUEER SCOUT business to the next level in the United States and is seeking a trademark to do so.
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With a desire to do more and to expand opportunities outside of Colombia, but also the fact that the company is licensed and founded in the United States, the next step was to seek out a trademark through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Toro International, LLC started the process in 2024 and is still dealing with some hurdles as it appears the Boy Scouts of America, which is now Scouting America, has decided to delay the process multiple times as they try to do some fact finding to stop Queer Scout from gaining a trademark.
Related Post: Travel Thursday: Being Out In Colombia Was The Thrill Of The Year
Is the issue that someone wants to use the word scout? There’s a company called Toy Scout that the Boy Scouts of America had no issue with gaining a trademark, but it seems that now the Scouting America organization has rolled out its lawyers and is even enlisted legally binding Wikipedia articles to try to prohibit queer scout from gaining a trademark (sarcasm). You know they mean business when a law firm uses Wikipedia.
What is sad is the multiplied delays and the very poor Letter of Protest from Scouting America has caused Toro international LLC of course time but most definitely money and more money. Does scouting America have an issue of someone else using the word scout? Or are they just not as accepting and don’t want to see the word queer next to the word scout.
As an Eagle Scout, an educated person, PhD ABD, and college administrator, I found a great deal of faults with Scouting America and their antics, their stall tactics, their Letter of Protest.
Below is a letter we sent to Scouting America and its lawyers back on May 23, 2025 asking for a response by last Wednesday May 28, 2025 before we shared this information with you. Out of office replies were received, but more time has lapsed than we provided and more time since they have been back in office and still no response. At time of publication, June 2, 2025 no one has responded to us with the questions of why is scouting America doing this and other simple questions.
To:PR@scouting.org <pr@scouting.org>
Cc: jzirkman@scouting.org, GHecht@foxrothschild.com, zshore@foxrothschild.com, colszyk@foxrothschild.com
Fri 2025-05-23 8:31 PM
Subject: Trademark Case halted by Scouting America – USPTO – Request for more Information
Hello Scouting America and Fox Rothchild, LLP.,
It has come to our attention that Scouting America has a current block on a small business application in front of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) looking to use the word Scout as part of its trademark.
Preliminary Interview
Instinct Magazine conducted a brief interview with Toro International, LLC to find out why this small business was being hindered from completing the trademark process. Here is a brief excerpt from what we learned:
We launched Queer Scout to expand on the offer of OUT in Colombia and provide tourism and entertainment experiences specifically for adult gay travelers—starting in Colombia, with plans to grow globally. Our focus is nightlife, dining, and cultural experiences for queer adults. It has nothing to do with youth programming, outdoor education, or any of the services traditionally associated with the BSA.
When we applied to register our trademark with the USPTO, the Boy Scouts of America filed a notice of opposition. At first glance, we assumed it was routine—they frequently oppose marks containing the word “Scout.” However, our attorneys found that in several cases, including The Toy Scout, Scout Living, where BSA filed extensions of time to consider opposing the trademark—but ultimately chose not to proceed with a formal opposition once it was clear the services weren’t youth-focused or affiliated with scouting.
More Information Needed
As an Eagle Scout and the Managing Editor of Instinct Magazine, I’m writing to ask for more information from Scouting America as to its stance on this application. I see from the records Scouting America is holding up the process.
We’d love to hear from those we found may be of assistance to us finding out more. If there are others we should be addressing, let us know so we can reach out to them and share that updated information with other media outlets.
- From the Scouting America Legal Page, we see a list of lawyers that work with the organization. Trademark is not listed as an area so we’ve included General Counsel Joseph Zirkman.
- From the Trademark Status page we see GARY A. HECHT, FOX ROTHSCHILD, LLP listed under Potential Opposers contact information as well as Christopher D. Olszyk, Jr.. From the Find A Person page at Fox Rothchild, LLP, both are listed with trademark as a specialty.
- From Fox Rothchild Contact Us Page, Zoe Shore, Assistant Director of Media Relations as she is listed under Media Inquiries.
Examining the Letter of Protest
To let you know that this is not just a quick email for sound bytes for publication next Thursday May 29th, 2025, we have looked at the Letter of Protest and are truly a little confused and shocked by the Exhibits provided.
Before we receive your comments on this matter, we do see in your Letter of Protest that your basis for opposition has 2 points:
- Possible likelihood of confusion under Trademark Act Section 2(d) with U.S. Registration Nos. 1318643, 2578122, 1702357, 6957841 and 1363872.
- Possible false association of the mark under Trademark Act Section 2(a) with Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
Point 1
For point 1, when it comes time to publish our findings, we will share this imagery with our readers as to your Exhibits A through E stating that there is similarity in the proposed QUEER SCOUT trademark with existing trademarks.
Point 2
For point 2, possible false association, we will also point out that you have highlighted the 5th definition (the 10th entry) in a dictionary to show the word scout has ties with Boy Scouts of America Scouting America.
If I were reviewing this document as part of the USPTO, I would see that you dug down as far as to attempt to use in your evidence the 5th definition. If you went that far, why not the 7th – a male servant, for maybe that could be the sub definition we all should be considering when looking up the word scout and association with the Boy Scouts of America Scouting America, too?
- often Scout
a. A member of the Boy Scouts.
b. A member of the Girl Scouts. - Informal An individual; a person: a good scout.
- Chiefly British A student’s male servant at Oxford University.
You also highlight in Exhibit G a Wikipedia page as part of your Letter of Protest. As an Eagle Scout, a Managing Editor, a College Administrator, former high school teacher, and PhD ABD, I was floored to see a lawfirm, partners in a law firm would use Wikipedia in anything legal. We do not allow college freshmen and I didn’t allow high school students to use Wikipedia in any submissions. This must have been an oversight.
As for the articles on the success of scouting, there are articles on the success, safety, and need for queer travel groups, LGBTQ+ travel information, and more, especially in 2025 America.
Feedback Desired
We are looking forward to hearing from all parties involved by end of day Wednesday May 28th so we may publish on Thursday March 29th. As of now, the above will be mentioned in our coverage of Boy Scouts of America Scouting America and its opposition to a small business looking to use the trademark QUEER SCOUT.
So no response yet to our desire for more information from pr@scouting.org,jzirkman@scouting.org, GHecht@foxrothschild.com, zshore@foxrothschild.com, colszyk@foxrothschild.com . Maybe some of you may have better results if you reach out to them, or just send them our article, or if know someone else we could direct this to regarding trademark issues. More sharing may help.
