Company Trademarks Name Of Town, Sues Firm For Selling Souvenirs
from the sturgis dept
Sturgis, South Dakota, is nominally a relatively small town. It has a population under 7,000. However, in August every year, it's home to one of the biggest and most famous motorcycle rallies in the world -- when somewhere around half a million people (and motorcycles) descend on the area. It's quite famous for the rally, which has been going on for more than 70 years. However, something's not right in Sturgis this year.... And -- wouldn't you know it? -- there's an overreach of intellectual property to blame. Apparently the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Inc (SMRi), the organization that runs the event, has decided to trademark "Sturgis" and sue local vendors for selling souvenirs -- a huge part of local business in Sturgis.Now, you can see why the company that runs the rally might want to own the name of the town -- which is certainly associated with the rally. But it's still the name of the town. Rushmore Photos & Gifts, the one vendor that SMRi has sued so far, is counter-suing, and claiming that the trademark is "based on a lie." Other vendors, though, are living in fear. They don't want to speak out and call more attention to themselves, they've taken products off their shelves, but they're hurting financially by not being able to sell products with the name of their own town on them.
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Filed Under: abuse, motorcycles, sturgis, trademark
Companies: sturgis motorcycle rally inc
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I can understand why you might say that but do you not see the bigger picture where the law may be badly written or in fact wrong all together.
Just because there are laws does not mean those laws are correct.
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Now opening: the Fahrenheit Copytard Legal Diploma-Mill!
Coming to a book store nearby: Celsius 233! (Due to variations in sources, this book may be retitled Fahrenheit 842 in some jurisdictions)
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I resemble that remark. Though I haven't been to Sturgis yet.
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Went to Sturgis last year. Not on a bike, though. Just to take in the spectacle. Bought a completely unlicensed t-shirt and everything, the possession of which is probably now some kind of federal felony. I'll be turning myself in to ICE later this afternoon.
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Re: Biker Gangs??
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Try trademark scam.
Or tirademark.
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Ooh....
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This is the way it should be
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Re: This is the way it should be
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Arrrrgggg my brain is melting.
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The name of the town existed before the company did.
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But it's the town's name. One shouldn't have to file for government protection to use one's own name.
If you weren't an anonymous coward, and I applied for a trademark on your name and then sued you for using your own name, would that be fine?
If trademark law allows this sort of bullshit, then the law is fucked and needs to be changed.
Clear enough?
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It's somewhat similar to "CSI" vs the "CSI: Las Vegas" stuff you see in Vegas.
Note, I am only talking about the word Sturgis. Other phrases like "Sturgis Biker Weekend" and other phrases mentioned in the linked article are protected trademarks and should be enforced.
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...they should have applied for a trademark and either negotiated licenses with businesses or just given them away to anyone that asked.
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Sarcasm, right?
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Considering the length of time that this Festival has been running and the likely time frame that the businesses being bullied have been selling merchandise related to the Sturgis Rally, this trademark would be invalidated if any or all of the vendors would hit back with any reasonable legal counsel supporting them!
Please bring valid arguments/comments to the discussion or crawl back into your little basement and keep worshiping the corporate gods you have plastered to your walls.
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Trademarks are granted to protect a company's products from being confused with the products of another company. The company would need to show that there is adaquate proof that when people think of the word or phrase in question, that they think of a specific company. In this case, it can adaquately argue that when people think of "Sturgis" they think of an event in a town called "Sturgis" and not a specific company. Furthermore, this specific company is hosting an event in a town with the license of that town. So, who really owns the event? Arguably, the event is owned by the town and hosted with the license of the town. Therefore, by the law, the company has no leg to stand on.
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If they were trying to claim trademark over "Stugis Rally", "Sturgis Biker Rally", etc... then fine in fact I'd back them on it. But trying to take the name Sturgis itself? Bull.
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More info on SMRi
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Inc., a nonprofit organization, has been formed to protect the intellectual property rights of the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_31d7d7ec-8bc0-11df-9d6f-001cc4c002e0.html
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Re: More info on SMRi
Board Vice-Chairman Jim Burgess said in the release, “This event is important not just only to South Dakota, but to the entire motorcycling world. Our goal is to watch over this intellectual property for the good of the Sturgis community and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/meadecountytimes/news/article_17f7a073-c50b-521d-b6af-c295 52715acc.html
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Karen Simmons - CPA and board liaison to the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_7b9ddd5c-a926-11e0-88ad-001cc4c002e0.html
Jerry Berkowitz - President of Hot Leathers, exclusive licensee for Buffalo Chip apparel and other bike rally merchandise
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/meadecountytimes/news/article_7dc7feb2-436f-502d-8597 -648066d19b43.html
Al Rieman - President of Black Hills Harley-Davidson
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/image_c7726d5a-371a-5aa2-87d5-1700ef407654.html
This all looks like something that would benefit "the greater good", doesn't it?
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Re: More info on SMRi
Knowing that, the rest will probably make more sense.
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Get it right, you dumb freetards!
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I could claim that I own the moon, but that doesn't make it so. Just like you folks claim that you own the culture. Your post just proves the attitude of the others around here. You think you should just be able to own things without filling out the proper paperwork.
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> without filling out the proper paperwork.
Holy shit. Yes, in a free society, people shouldn't need government paperwork to support their ownership of their own stuff.
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I'm getting in on this action
As soon as the press and everyone else start talking about the 2nd great depression, I'm going to sue the big media companies for watering down my brand and making it possible for me to differentiate myself in the market place because they keep using my brand name generically.
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trademark
Also, the SMRI group doesn't put on the Sturgis event. Sturgis is like Mardi Gras with people showing up and random businesses catering to the crowd.
This is a power grab by a few big businesses that will push out the competion.
Don't be fooled into thinking this about the good of Sturgis.
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They keep trying to tighten their control of the name Sturgis
For many years when I had the sturgisrally.com domain (at the time, my company even hosted the official site), my site was dormant with no content, that is why I fell that I was fortunate enough not to receive any legal threats from the official rally company about the use of the name sturgis rally in my domain. Many other domain owners with similar names had to deal with the ridiculous licensing in order to use their domains.
Now hearing that they are trying to control the word Sturgis is crazy. Sturgis is the name of the town. Does that mean any company that uses that name must pay a license fee? Map makers? Tourist shops selling generic Sturgis marked goods? Highway signs? Will the city of Sturgis have to pay a licence fee just to use their own town name? All ridiculous and I sure hope the companies being attacked will hire good lawyers in order to fight this and show just how idiotic it is to think that a company can own the name of a town.
On a side note, an article from the same newspaper last year wrote about the number of federal agencies that had a presence during the rally and that one of their biggest tasks was to take out any 'bootleg' businesses selling items that contains words that described the event without obtaining the proper licences. Now I can understand the need to license the official name of the event to be used on goods sold, but they have always stretched things way beyond reason and logic.
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The City of Sturgis runs the event. SMRi bought the trademarks from the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce. The issue is the manufacture, distribution and sale of unlicensed merchandise by companies not in anyway related to Sturgis or the event.
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Another example of the same thing....
Apparently the town is very protective of putting their town name on shirts. They've got it on lock down.
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Souvenir pernikahan
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