SAVE THE PATCH (Excerpted), by Spike The familiar rumble and roar of a pack of bikes, which is music to our ears, may be a faintly distant tune in the future. The loudest noise on the streets right now is the buzz and the buzz on the streets is “SAVE THE PATCH”. ‘SAVE THE PATCH’ is the culmination of many factors including decades of ever increasing discrimination and persecution to Bikers, their organizations and their lifestyle in general. We as bikers have widely been subjected to unwarranted highway stops, refused admittance into establishments and misrepresentation by law enforcement and the media. The U.S. Department of Justice last year filed a lawsuit seeking to seize control of the trademarked logo of the Mongol Nation Motorcycle Club LLC, arguing that the Mongols are a criminal organization and that the mark is used for intimidation; but the Mongols and their attorneys argue that the government is overstepping its bounds with the lawsuit, which they said would infringe on the rights of club members. “They’re trying to destroy the right of men to associate and indicate their association,” said Joe Yanny, an attorney representing the Mongols. “It’s absolutely ridiculous. In addition to being a violation of club members’ free-speech rights, more importantly, it’s a due-process issue.” The lawsuit breaks new ground in terms of trademark law, the attorney said, adding that it may end up at the Supreme Court. Unlike a business trademark controlled by a single entity, the Mongols’ logo is a “collective membership mark,” and “It’s legally owned by one entity, but held in trust for the members. It’s the votes of club members that ultimately determined who is allowed to wear the club’s patch.” Bikers throughout the state and nationwide identify with the message being sent out and the ramifications, if the patch is lost, it will affect us all. In southern California, widely respected members of all major clubs have met to discuss ways to save the patch. A Facebook page “SAVE the PATCH” has been set up since October and it states: “It has become time to further protect and defend our rights to ride, associate, and enjoy our lifestyle for all motorcycle riders and enthusiasts. To wear our respective clubs membership insignia, which have been trademarked, copyrighted, and incorporated by these organized entities. Representatives from a few of these clubs in Southern California have come together to make the initial steps in presenting and organizing the support of all motorcycle clubs and riders to stand up and work to prevent the freedoms we all value and enjoy from being eroded further, by an ever more intrusive government apparently bent on tyrannical control, we all need to become involved and work to defend that which we all enjoy about our lifestyle, be it as a club member or independent riders.” The good news is, the passion to ride, the passion for freedom and the passion to preserve the life style is more than enough to unite the Biker world in whatever stance it takes to SAVE THE PATCH. To contribute, make checks payable to “Trademark Defense Fund” and mail c/o NCOM, 7334 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Suite 200, Canoga Park, CA 91303. NCOM BIKER NEWSBYTES Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish, National Coalition of Motorcyclists
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 16:43:00 +0000