In a rare public dispute between two prominent local charities, the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston has sued Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay for trademark infringement, alleging that Big Brothers' decision last year to add "Big Sisters" to its name has created public confusion about the groups' identities.
The federal lawsuit, filed Friday in US District Court in Boston, comes after more than a year of discussions between the two nonprofits over the name change.
"We didn't want this conflict, but we want to be able to continue to do the good work we do, and this name change is threatening our ability to do that," said Deborah Re, chief executive of the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, which filed the lawsuit after Big Brothers denied its request to remove "Big Sisters" from its name in the Boston area.
"I'm constantly asked why two organizations in the city are named Big Sister," Re added, "and my responsibilities to raise money and increase visibility are both being hindered by Big Brothers' name grab of 'Big Sister.' "
John B. Pearson, president and chief executive of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay, said yesterday he had not yet seen the lawsuit, "although it doesn't come as a full surprise, and it's very disappointing."
Big Sister, founded in 1951, provides guidance and support to young girls in the Boston area, while for most of its history Big Brothers of Massachusetts Bay, founded in 1949, focused on mentoring and supporting Boston-area young boys. In 1998, Big Brothers of Massachusetts Bay also began providing services to girls, although for the next eight years its name continued to suggest the group had a single-sex mission.
Only two Big Sister organizations remain in existence nationwide - the one in Boston and one in Rhode Island; most of the others have merged into Big Brothers Big Sisters organizations.
Last December, with the permission of its national organization, Big Brothers of Massachusetts Bay changed its name to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay. The renaming came shortly after the Boston-based nonprofit merged with two smaller Big Brothers Big Sisters organizations, on Cape Cod and in Attleboro.
According to the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, the name change created immediate confusion among volunteers, donors, and community members, who began to question whether the organizations had merged. The "confusingly similar" names could also hurt Big Sister's fund-raising efforts, the group said.
Pearson questioned Re's contention that the name change had hurt Big Sister's fund-raising efforts, noting that Big Sister raised substantially more at its 2007 annual fund-raiser in November than it did the previous year. He also said he believed children would be better served if the two groups merged, since they could combine the forces of their volunteer recruitment, management, and other activities.
Re opposes a merger, saying she believes Big Sister should remain a standalone organization because it focuses exclusively on the needs of girls.
Sacha Pfeiffer can be reached at pfeiffer@globe.com.
