Who's the Boss? Sask. cheer company runs afoul of Hugo Boss over its name

A Saskatchewan business has found itself in a trademark flap with international brand Hugo Boss. The fashion label is seeking to prevent Boss Athletics Inc. from using the word "Boss" in its marketing and merchandise.

"They're concerned that consumers may be confused and might confuse us for Hugo Boss, which — in my opinion — is ludicrous," said Carley Weisbeck, who co-owns the cheerleading, dance and tumbling gym, which has been operating in Regina for the past six years.

The dispute traces back to a few years ago, when Weisbeck and her business partner Sienna Borland first sought to trademark their business.

"We stand for empowerment and positivity," said Weisbeck, noting their logo uses a fist instead of an 'O' in Boss. "We just thought it was so fitting for all the things that we kind of stand for."

The Canadian trademark office later notified them that Hugo Boss had contested their use of the word 'boss.' The fashion brand then sent the Regina company a cease and desist letter, demanding it stop any use or display of the words Boss or Boss Athletics in its social media and marketing materials.

"That is unsettling to receive obviously, because they were after everything," said Weisbeck. "They said take down your website, you need to rebrand, we don't want you using 'Boss' at all."

The two got legal representation and sought to make edits to their brand that they thought would appease Hugo Boss, changing all their merchandise and sportswear to read "BA" or "Boss Cheer Athletics" to ensure that there was no confusion with the fashion brand.

While the dispute seemed to have settled, the trademark war flared up again recently when Instagram notified the pair that Hugo Boss had reported their business for violating trademark rules. Their Instagram account has since been deactivated.

"We're a little bit confused as to why that's happened. They're reporting posts from years ago and something we'd never agreed to do was get rid of our old clothing," said Borland, adding that one of the offending posts had one girl in a group wearing a shirt sporting the older logo with the word "Boss" on it.

Now, she said, six years of memories and photos have been wiped out.

"Boss is a passion project of Carley and mine. We do it because we love the sport, we love working with the kids," Borland said, adding that kids have told them about going to the company's page for a lift in spirits.

"Seeing how it's affecting our athletes and our families is the hardest part for us for sure."

It's not the first time Hugo Boss has caught attention for fighting to protect its trademark. In 2020, English comedian Joe Lycett even changed his name to Hugo Boss to protest the fashion house and brand's dispute with a Welsh company that wanted to trademark its business, Boss Brewing.

Emails to the German-based Hugo Boss were not answered, but one lawyer specializing in trademark law said this type of dispute is common.