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'{{Infobox company | name = The South Butt, LLC | logo = The South Butt logo.png | type = [[Limited liability company|LLC]] | genre = | fate = Terminated/Canceled<ref name=sos/> | foundation = May 2007<ref name=sos/> | founder = James A. Winkelmann | defunct = June 2011 | location_city = [[St. Louis]] | location_country = United States | area_served = United States | key_people = | industry = Retail, wholesale | products = Clothing, outdoor gear | production = | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | aum = | assets = | equity = | owner = James A. Winkelmann | num_employees = | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = | footnotes = | intl = }} '''The South Butt, LLC''' was a clothing and accessories company. The South Butt was founded in May 2007 by Jimmy Winkelmann Sr. and Jr., the latter being a 16-year-old student at [[Chaminade College Preparatory School (Missouri)|Chaminade College Preparatory School]].<ref name="abc-091001">{{Cite news |last=Netter |first=Sarah |title=The North Face vs. The South Butt: Entrepreneurial Teen Undaunted by Lawsuit Threat |publisher=ABC News |date=2009-10-01 |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Business/teens-south-butt-apparel-irks-north-face/story?id=8712101 |accessdate=2010-03-23}}</ref><ref name="Harris">{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Joe |title=South Butt Clothing Falls Off a Cliff |publisher=Couthouse News Service |date=2012-10-17 |url=http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/10/17/51356.htm |accessdate=2012-10-22}}</ref> The South Butt dissolved in June 2011.<ref name=sos>{{cite web |title=Business Entity Search |publisher=Missouri Secretary of State |url=https://www.sos.mo.gov/BusinessEntity/soskb/Corp.asp?2025464 |accessdate=8 December 2011}}</ref> Winkelmann Jr. claimed the company was a parody of [[The North Face]], an American outdoor product company.<ref name=cindy/> 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."<ref>{{cite news |last=Volkmann |first=Kelsey |title=St. Louis Business Journal: South Butt vs. North Face |publisher=Bizjournals.com |date=2009-09-28 |url= http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2009/09/south_butt_vs_north_face.html |accessdate=2010-02-07}}</ref> 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, his voluntary abandonment of the pending trademark application, and his immediate discontinuance of his company's name, mark, and tagline. In response, Winkelmann offered to sell his company to The North Face for $1&nbsp;million, an offer that was later rescinded by Winkelmann 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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Frankel |first=Todd C. |title=The North Face is suing The South Butt International clothing company accuses teen's Ladue-based operation of trademark infringement |publisher=STLtoday.com |date=2009-12-15 |url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/the-north-face-is-suing-the-south-butt-international-clothing/article_f01545a8-383c-5bc6-9d73-fb889ae2569c.html |accessdate=2012-10-20}}</ref> The court ordered mediation in the case, and on April 1, 2010, the parties reached a closed settlement agreement.<ref name=cindy>{{cite web |last=Billhartz Gregorian |first=Cynthia |title= North Face, South Butt reach agreement |publisher=STLtoday.com |date=2010-04-03 |url= http://www2.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/north-face-south-butt-reach-agreement/article_c096dec5-118f-526a-a9db-244c9ccb0358.html |accessdate= 2011-12-08}}</ref> Two days later, Winkelmann Sr. formed a company called "Why Climb Mountains" which sold "The Butt Face" products.<ref name="Harris"/> In October 2012, the Winkelmanns admitted in court that they violated the settlement agreement with The North Face.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hines|first=Alice|title=The Butt Face, The North Face Spoof, Agrees To Halt Clothing Sales|publisher=The Huffington Post|date=2012-10-25 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/the-butt-face-spoof-north-face-shuts-down_n_2017220.html| accessdate=2014-02-10}}</ref> 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 will be reduced by $1,000 for every month of compliance. ==References== {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:South Butt}} [[Category:Clothing companies of the United States]] [[Category:Parodies]] [[Category:Companies based in St. Louis]]'