For 71 years there has been a motorcycle rally in Sturgis, SD, and no one ever claimed to own commercial rights to that name. Not, that is, until earlier this year, when Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Inc. (SMRI) filed for trademark registration on the terms "Sturgis" and "Black Hills." That made a whole lot of people unhappy, and in late October an opposing group has filed legal papers with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to invalidate those trademarks.
Following the registration of the trademarks, SMRI started sending letters to merchants in the towns around Sturgis informing them that they would not be permitted to sell merchandise using those trademarked terms without obtaining appropriate licensing agreements. Some merchants did so, while others mounted their own legal challenges to the trademarking. A group named Concerned Citizens for Sturgis (CCFS) was formed to fight the battle.
The CCFS and others opposing the trademarking argue that after so many businesses have used the terms for so many years it is much too late for anyone to be locking those terms down as their own. Additionally, the USPTO, in a document titled "Basic Facts About Trademarks," states the following:
Registration may be refused if the mark is:
- Descriptive for the goods/services;
- A geographic term;
- A surname;
- Ornamental as applied to the goods.
It would seem to be common sense that "Sturgis" and "Black Hills" would fall under the "geographic term" designation, but in that case, how is it that the trademarks were approved? The manner in which this legal challenge plays out will presumably clarify a great deal.
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