Scouting for girls

THE Girl Scouts of the United States has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America after the Boy Scouts decided to drop “Boy” from its programme and start welcoming older girls.

The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court is an attempt by the Girl Scouts, founded in 1912, to avert an erosion of its brand and membership as the Boy Scouts, founded two years earlier, tries to reverse its own decades-long membership decline. The Girl Scouts claim they have been “marginalised” by the move, which they argue has sown confusion.