Is the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Canceled?
Love Is Sturgis Canceled? The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Is Not Canceled! Over 50 local businesses confirm they will be open and hosting the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. (listed below) Over the past few months the question that has been on everyone’s mind is – will the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally be canceled? “You can’t cancel what you don’t own,” said Randy Peterson, owner of Sturgis.com, the original website dedicated to promoting the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. “You can choose to participate or choose not to participate, but the Sturgis Rally will still go on regardless of what the City of Sturgis chooses.” Consensus among area venues, campgrounds and over 50 hospitality businesses is that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is happening, and they will be open to host it. No One Owns the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally The fact there is no “official” owner of the rally is one that is widely misunderstood. Only recently have regional news and media outlets begun to shed more light on this reality. In a recent article published by the Black Hills Pioneer, Jesse James Dupree, co-owner of the Full Throttle Saloon and Pappy Hoel Campground, pointed out the federal ruling from the 8th Circuit Court, which addressed the use of Rally trademarks. In that document, the court ruled the City of Sturgis’ involvement and authority over the Rally does not extend past providing municipal services. In 2018, The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the US District Court ruled the rally is not organized by any single entity but is rather a pluralistic endeavor promoted by multiple organizations. These court cases began as a trademark dispute between who owns the title “Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.” They additionally brought to light answers to the question of who is the official organizer of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The court stated: “We agree and hold that the jury could not infer from the onerous planning that the City undertakes to provide infrastructure for the rally that the City was the organizer or sponsor of the rally. To allow such an inference would be tantamount to saying that it would be reasonable to infer that the City of New York organizes the sessions of the United Nations General Assembly because of everything it does to assist their occurrence.” A blog article further explaining the implications of the court ruling and providing .pdf court documents can be found here: sturgis.com/blog/sturgis-rally-trademark-officially-struck-down. “The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was started by a private business owner and private motorcycle club,” said Peterson. “That motorcycle club isn’t even inside Sturgis City limits. According to US Court of Appeals, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has been promoted by ‘hundreds of entities’ since.” An entity cannot own something just because their officials say they do. This fact is made very clear when the appeals court went on to state, an “…owner cannot establish that its mark is valid simply by getting its officials and agents to say that it is.” If the City of Sturgis votes to not partake in the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, it does not mean there will not be a rally. It means the city will not issue vendor permits within city limits, rent out space, make Main Street motorcycles only or provide other municipal services. “You can’t cancel what you don’t own” – Randy Peterson, of Sturgis.com Government Involvement Because the City of Sturgis does not own the rally and the state has shown no inclination to tell people they cannot come, multiple venues, campgrounds and businesses are moving forward. These Black Hills venues and attractions will continue hosting the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally regardless of whether the City of Sturgis votes to promote the rally within the city limits. “It’s what Governor Kristi Noem said early on: ‘The government’s role is not to run people’s lives, but to give them information by which they can make informed decisions,’ ” said Sturgis Buffalo Chip CEO and President Rod Woodruff. “Beyond that, it’s a personal responsibility. We have a very conscientious political structure here in South Dakota, and that’s because of the people we have here. They’re respectful of people’s civil rights and their right to freedom. We’re here every year to celebrate that freedom.” When Governor Noem announced a July 3rd fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, she was quoted as saying, “If you’re sick stay home, If you’re the vulnerable population and you’re worried about the virus, then you should stay home. People will have all the information they need to know exactly what it will look like out there at Mt. Rushmore so that they can make a decision whether or not they should attend this year.” The same attitude should prevail regarding the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Those who do not feel safe coming to the Sturgis Rally should not come. “The government’s role is not to run people’s lives, but to give them information by which they can make informed decisions,” said Sturgis Buffalo Chip CEO and President Rod Woodruff. “Beyond that, it’s a personal responsibility.” – Rod Woodruff Safety The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the lives of everyone, but much has been learned since the virus was first detected. The public now has access to information on how to best protect themselves and how to live with the virus. Social distancing, wearing a mask, sanitation practices and self-quarantining when symptomatic are all steps the public and businesses can take. Safety is still on people’s minds, but many are starting to realize they can’t hide forever. Department of Health and CDC guidelines are keeping people more informed on how to stay safe while being able to live their lives, and many private businesses are doing their part to help their customers be better protected. Many area businesses and campgrounds have already put in place new guidelines and safeguards to combat the potential spread of COVID-19. Measures at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip will include increasing sanitation practices, implementing social distancing measures, providing hand sanitizer throughout the campground and encouraging
STURGIS RALLY TRADEMARK OFFICIALLY STRUCK DOWN!!!
Love IT’S ABOUT TIME! Who owns the rights to “Sturgis”? After more than a decade of battling, there is finally a firm answer to this question—we all own it because it is in the public domain. This means that any business planning to use the words “Sturgis,” “Sturgis Rally & Races” or “Sturgis Motorcycle Rally” may do so without any fear of getting themselves into legal hot water. Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Inc.(SMRI) may no longer attempt to claim ownership of the “Sturgis,” “Sturgis Motorcycle Rally” or “Sturgis Rally & Races” trademarks according to an order issued by Federal Judge Jeffrey Viken. A ruling on February 14, 2019 from Judge Jeffrey Viken in the US District Court, District of South Dakota, Western Division stated: “The record does not support a finding that SMRI owns, produces, or operates the rally, or does anything else that might allow it to acquire ownership over the rally itself or its intellectual property. The record indicates to the contrary that the rally is a pluralistic endeavor.” So what does that mean exactly? And why is it a good thing? Let’s look at a piece of recent history to put this into perspective. In the late 1970s and early ’80s, residents in the City of Sturgis brought to vote a referendum to kill the Sturgis Rally. The City of Sturgis kicked bikers out of city park, and city politicians stated it was time to get them out of town. The rally moved to campgrounds and establishments outside of city limits, and for the next 20 years, the Sturgis Rally was promoted by those private businesses. It wasn’t until nearly two decades later that the City of Sturgis Chamber of Commerce attempted to falsely claim ownership of Sturgis, Sturgis Rally and Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, alleging it had not been used or promoted by anyone other than the City of Sturgis Chamber of Commerce. The recent court ruling nullifies that attempt for what it was, a grab. You never know which way a government politician is going to turn, or what they will choose to support or kill. This ruling helps to ensure that if something ever happened again like what did in the early ’80s, the rally can move and prosper anywhere outside of town just like it did in the early ’80s. A city only controls what happens within the city. Biker passion trumps government intervention when it comes to keeping a motorcycle rally tradition alive. And that’s why this court ruling is important to the longevity of the Sturgis Rally’s existence. The poster shown above is an example of the word “Sturgis” being used in the public domain to promote the rally more than two decades prior to the attempted trademark claim. At the time this poster was produced and distributed, the City of Sturgis was actively trying to keep bikers out of town. What else does this ruling mean? The court order is consistent with the 8th Circuit Court ruling from February 22, 2019, which stated that the STURGIS mark and many others are invalid. This new order takes things a step further by ordering that trademark cancellations be sent to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A November 2, 2018 ruling had previously stated that SMRI, in fact, did not own or have valid trademark rights to “Sturgis,” “Sturgis Rally & Races” or “Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.” The summary stated, “SMRI and its witnesses were … not credible as a matter of law when they told the jury that it and its predecessors-in-interest had been the substantially exclusive users of the word.” It went on to state, “…a trademark owner cannot establish that its mark is valid simply by getting its officials and agents to say that it is. Businesses that once feared attempted enforcement of the publicly available words by SMRI can now find comfort knowing that the trademarks have been ordered to officially be wiped from the books. SMRI can longer attempt to enforce ownership rights over the names “Sturgis,” “Sturgis Motorcycle Rally” or “Sturgis Rally & Races”.. The ruling by the US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has brought major vindication to Rushmore Photo & Gifts (RPG) and the Niemann family who have been fighting hard to defend this stance against Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Inc. (SMRI). Rushmore Photo & Gifts, Inc., owned by the Niemanns, had long produced souvenir items containing the words “Sturgis,” “Sturgis Rally & Races” and “Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.” They had always known these terms were public domain, and they never strayed from that belief, even after SMRI registered the mark “Sturgis” (long after it had been used by others in public domain), began a licensing program for its use and slapped RPG with a trademark infringement lawsuit. According to a press release issued by RPG April 3, 2019, “Until the Niemann’s and Rushmore Photo & Gifts prevailed at the Eighth Circuit, a South Dakota district court had in place a permanent injunction on the use of [Sturgis] marks, which ultimately represented hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost business for Rushmore Photo & Gifts and its owners.” As Judge Viken stated in his February 14, 2019 ruling, “The terms STURGIS, STURGIS RALLY & RACES, and STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY when used by the defendants, or by anyone else for that matter, do not infringe on SMRI’s marks.” Judge Jeffrey Viken in the US District Court, District of South Dakota, Western Division Sturgis Court Case PDF Download PDF File Here Trademark Court Case Download PDF File Here Love
FEDERAL JUDGE CANCELS TRADEMARKS………..
Love Daytona Bike Week Trademarks Cancelled by Federal Judge: Stating that the trademarks should never have been granted in the first place after being open for decades, a Federal Judge simply threw them out as being too generic to copyright by an outside entity, and saying that at best, only that community could possibly copyright them. She further decided that they had been obtained from the Federal Trademark and Patent office fraudulently and noted that the so-called owners of the trademarks could not enforce them in any way, nor stop anyone from making merchandise for sale at Daytona Bike week. We feel as do many within our industry that this decision will have enormous bearing on the fight to strip similar trademarks from others that are currently holding them for the Sturgis Black Hills rally. As many of you know, this group created havoc at this past summer’s Sturgis rally. Many vendors were refused access to the trademarks, and others were charged exorbitant sums to us them. As a result, we all paid more for “Official” rally T-Shirts, clothing and other souvenirs, and we also had far less of a selection as so many vendors just boycotted “Official” rally goods. We did! Most of what we saw sucked anyway so it was easy. Many people we spoke with there also felt the same way and brought little or no official products. Hopefully a positive decision on this by the courts will take place before this year’s Sturgis Rally in August. We will keep you posted. Quick Throttle Magazine Join the fight to keep the words “Sturgis” and “Black Hills” free for all to use. Go to both www.concernedcitizensforsturgis.org and Facebook “Concerned Citizens for Sturgis” page. Kent Mortimer Renegade Classics Love
NO STATE TRADEMARK FOR the NAME STURGIS!!…..
Love SOUTH DAKOTA Secretary of State Gant reminds trademark applicants about what cannot be trademarked. This is in reponse to the tremendous reaction caused by certain groups who lay claim to the name Sturgis that are trying to prevent others from using the name Sturgis on products they are selling. Buck Lovell….. Secretary of State Jason Gant noted today that the public should be aware that South Dakota Law places certain restrictions on trademarks, and those seeking to trademark their name for exclusive use need not apply. “South Dakota law does not allow persons to simply trademark a name or a location to deny its use to others. Any trademark registration with a name or location can only be used in connection with additionally descriptive terms distinctive of the applicant’s goods or services,” Gant said. “In other words, I couldn’t trademark the name “Jason Gant” in South Dakota, but I could trademark “Jason Gant Widgets.” “The same goes for geographically descriptive terms such as “Black Hills,” or “Spearfish.” In the past, based on state law, our office has denied such requests based on SDCL 37-6-10,” Gant said. “The key for trademark applicants is that the requirement for a trademark is that a term’s use must be distinctive. You can protect the identity and distinctiveness of your product, but you can’t deny someone the use of their name, just because they might have the same name.” Controversies over protecting names have arisen recently due to a group in Sturgis filing for federal trademark protection for “Sturgis,” and “Black Hills” and a state prison inmate suing actor Mike Rowe because they share the same name. Gant noted, “In the case of trademarking “Sturgis” and “Black Hills,” this only could have taken place at the federal level, because my office has and will continue to reject similar applications, based on 37-6-10. Unfortunately, the parties involved are left to fight that battle in federal court.” “In the case of South Dakota’s Mike Rowe bringing suit against Mike Rowe, the narrator of The Deadliest Catch, for virtue of having the same name, everyone has their right to have their day in court. However, anyone attempting to trademark a personal name for their own exclusive use would find their application rejected in South Dakota.” Main Street Sturgis in the winter…..where are the bikers? Love
