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TOO MUCH ENTHANOL?………………..

Love Originally posted by Buck Lovell on Sunday, 29 April 2012 in Buck Lovell’s – American Biker Blog IS THIS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TOO MUCH ETHANOL IS ADDED TO GASOLINE? Love

STURGIS TRADEMARK DISPUTE NEWS

Love Originally posted by Buck Lovell on Saturday, 24 March 2012 in Buck Lovell’s – American Biker Blog   STURGIS TRADEMARK DISPUTE UPDATE This is a quick update for all of you following the court action that Concerned Citizens for Sturgis (CCFS) is taking against Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Inc. (SMRI) in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. On March 2, 2012 our attorney, Phil Hampton, filed a request for documents that lists 59 items that SMRI needs to produce. SMRI has 30 days to produce the asked for documents. Phil has also created a list of people who he will be taking depositions from. That work will start shortly. Most of the people on Phil’s list have sold souvenir rally merchandise bearing the words “Sturgis” and “Black Hills” for many, many years. Some have provided samples and pictures of their products going back through years of past rallies. Should reporters and magazine Editors wish to speak to Phil directly, his contact information is: Phillip G. Hampton, II Partner – Dickstein Shapiro LLP 202-420-2664 Depositions will be taken until this summer at which point we hope to get a date set on the USPTO calendar for the trial. It is not a jury trial. It is tried by judges that work for the USPTO. SMRI needs to come up with proof that they were the only ones using these two marks before everyone else. If, as we at CCFS believe, they lied to have these marks registered, the court will then repeal SMRI’s registration! SMRI normally uses two tactics to cloud the issues. First, by painting anyone that opposes them with a black hat and saying they don’t support the Sturgis community and are just “greedy” vendors. Secondly, saying that the rally and Sturgis charities cannot survive without the money brought in by their licensing program. When this trial comes before the court the judges will only be looking at the facts: Did SMRI use the words “Sturgis” and “Black Hills” before all of the other many vendors who have sold at the rally for years? We are looking forward with great anticipation to our day in court. If SMRI has evidence they will need to submit the documents we asked for before the 30 day period is up. Thanks to all who are supporting CCFS. Please keep the donations coming. I will update you as more action is taken and information becomes available. 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. Love

STURGIS TRADEMARK CLAIMS UNDER FIRE…………….

Love Originally posted by Buck Lovell on Sunday, 04 March 2012 in Buck Lovell’s – American Biker Blog   APPEALS TO SMRI STURGIS TRADEMARK VALIDITY WILL BE HEARD. An appeal board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trade will be hearing a legal challenge to SMRi’s claim to own the trademark rights to the words “Black Hills” and “Sturgis,” according to a Washington, D.C., attorney. A Mr. Philip Hampton who will be the attorney of record for “Concerned Citizens for Sturgis,” labeled the appeals board’s decision “qualified good news” for all those contesting the ownership of the two disputed Sturgis motorcycle rally trademarks. Concerned Citizens for Sturgis was initiated last year following Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Inc., or SMRi, questionable enforcement of its alleged registered trademarks during the annual motorcycle rally last August by prohibiting non-licensed vendors from selling items with those words on them. “They (SMRi) clearly have scared some people into paying tribute to them.” Hampton has petitioned the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel or rescind the two possibly invalid trademarks. “We believe both of those are geographically descriptive,” Hampton said as to why the words cannot be trademarked. But more importantly, Hampton said, when the application to register those trademarks was initially made by the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce in 2001, everybody was using the words on Tee shirts and other products they were selling. Vendors and others had used Sturgis for patches and other products in connection with the rally as far back as the 1940s, he said. “So much so, that no one had the exclusive right to use the marks,” the attorney said. “So we believe that the trademarks should never have been issued, because even the Chamber of Commerce didn’t have the right to use the mark.” SMRi chairman Dean Kinney said the so called not-for-profit corporation acquired the trademarks from the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and that it’s important for the Sturgis community to own the trademarks. “We believe that these are very important to the future of the rally and the community,” said Kinney, whose group spent more than $200,000 in legal fees in 2011 defending the trademarks. “If they’re not protected, then you lose them,” he said. Those lawsuits included winning a trademark challenge against the Little Sturgis Rally held in Sturgis, Ky., and filing a federal lawsuit for trademark infringement against Rushmore Photo and Gifts of Rapid City last year in a case that is ongoing. Kinney downplays the importance of the challenge by Concerned Citizens for Sturgis. “That hasn’t changed the status of our marks,” he said. “They are totally enforceable. These are registered federal trademarks. The onus is on them to show why they shouldn’t be.” According to Kinney, the opposition consists of about five people “who try to pretend they are 5,000 and, they hide behind Concerned Citizens for Sturgis and don’t represent anyone from Sturgis.” The most vocal member of Concerned Citizens is Kent Mortimer of Fresno, Calif. Mortimer’s Renegade Classics owns three storefronts on Main Street in Sturgis. Concerned Citizens for Sturgis does not maintain a membership list because of possible retribution from SMRi, which now decides which vendors can sell items with the words Black Hills or Sturgis on them. “They’re trying to lock their competition out,” Mortimer said. People are now starting to realize what SMRi is doing and are offering to help with the legal battle, he added. In a surprising turnabout, current non-Sturgis-resident SMRi board member Jerry Berkomitz of Manchester, Conn., was on the reverse side of the recent Florida trademark dispute involving Daytona Beach Bike Week. Berkomitz’s Good Sports Daytona, Inc. was a co-plaintiff in the successful effort by the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce to block efforts by three companies to claim exclusive ownership of the phrase “Daytona Beach Bike Week,” according to Kevin Kilian, the Daytona chamber’s chief operating officer. In that case, the judge barred the defendants from claiming ownership of the term because “Daytona Beach Bike Week and its functional equivalents are generic and cannot receive trademark protection,” according to a chamber news release. The judge also found that the defendant’s trademark registration was “fraudulently obtained or alternatively, was improperly granted.” “It’s always been our assertion that Bike Week Daytona was generic and more importantly usable by anyone in the public and the business community who wants to use it,” Kilian said. According to Hampton, the Daytona decision will not have any bearing on the trademark appeal, but it could be significant for the Rushmore Photo case. The hearing is not scheduled to end until early 2013. 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

KENT MORTIMERS RESPONSE TO SMRI LITIGATION

Love Originally posted by Buck Lovell on Wednesday, 08 February 2012 in Buck Lovell’s – American Biker Blog   KENT MORTIMERS WRITTEN RESPONSE TO RECENT SMRi LITIGATION Jerry Berkowitz – Volunteer or Profiteer? Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Inc. (SMRI) has a board of eight members who are all touted as “unpaid” volunteers. Two of these board members, Jerry Berkowitz of Hot Leathers and Jim Burgess of Black Hills Harley-Davidson, fought and opposed the trademarking of the name Sturgis for many years. Why, after years of litigation, did they suddenly switch sides and now sit on the board of an organization that is doing what they previously opposed? I just got my Hot Leathers 2012 wholesale catalog in the mail. 44 pages of this catalog are exclusively selling Sturgis rally related items (pages 254-297). This section starts with the Sturgis T-shirt labeled “# 1 Design” and goes on to list long sleeve T’s, ladies tops, sweatshirts, patches, magnets, shot glasses, hats, can koozies, ash trays, sunglasses, flags, etc… I’m sure you get the idea. Jerry berkowitz is making great deal of profit with Official Sturgis rally products! When they tell you it’s not about the money – it’s about the money! How did Jerry from Manchester, Connecticut, get such a sweetheart licensing deal? Dozens, if not hundreds, of other vendors who have sold at the Sturgis rally for years, can’t get a license from SMRI! The legal problems SMRI is now having is due to the secret deal that was made with Jerry and Hot Leathers and Jim and Harley-Davidson. To have these two individuals on SMRI’s board is a complete conflict of interest! They are there to feather their nests. SMRI is like a beautiful house. Everything looks great from the outside. But, when you get down in the basement and look at the foundation, it’s full of wood rot and termites! Certainly not the pretty picture SMRI paints of unpaid volunteers helping the Sturgis community. Every existing vendor should have been grandfathered in and licensed to make and sell Sturgis products. There would have been no need for expensive legal action that takes money away from the Sturgis community. Thanks again to all of the bikers, vendors, Sturgis campground and bar owners, South Dakota citizens and businessmen who have joined together to fight SMRI. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you feel would find this information beneficial. www.concernedcitizensforsturgis.org. Sincerely, Kent Mortimer, Owner Renegade Classics PHOTO BY BRETT LOVELL ……… Love

STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY INC GOES TO COURT…..

Love Originally posted by Buck Lovell on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 in Buck Lovell’s – American Biker Blog   WHO OWNS FIRST…….WHAT’S ON SECOND STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY INC OPPOSES ATTEMPT BY CONCERNED CITIZEN TO SEIZE MOTOR RALLY GOODWILL…. Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Inc. (SMRi), a non-profit with the mission of enhancing and growing the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and providing a charitable return to the greater Sturgis area, today announced it has filed an opposition proceeding with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office against Fresno, California-based Renegade Classics Corp. ​Renegade Classics Corp. seeks to establish the exclusive right in the United States to use the terms “Sturgis Rally Week” and “Sturgis Rally Week” with a motorcycle design. SMRi, owner of senior rights to the Sturgis®, Sturgis Bike Week®, Sturgis Rally & Races(TM) and Sturgis Motorcycle Rally(TM) brands, among others, has opposed the California company’s attempt to trade off of SMRi’s goodwill by registering its own confusingly similar trademarks. SMRi already is engaged in an expensive legal battle with Renegade Classics Corp’s ally, Rushmore Photo & Gifts, pertaining to Rushmore Photo’s use of terms “Officially Licensed Sturgis” and “Authentic Sturgis,” among other confusing terms. Kent Mortimer, the owner of Renegade Classics Corp., testified on behalf of Rushmore Photo last summer in a federal court hearing in Rapid City, and Mortimer and the Rushmore Photo owners last year formed a group called “Concerned Citizens for Sturgis” for the purpose of attacking the Sturgis-based non-profit’s intellectual property rights. Mortimer is no stranger to intellectual property litigation. Last year Mortimer and his company, Renegade, settled litigation asserted against them by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in federal court in California relating to Fox’s allegation that Mortimer and his company infringed Fox’s rights in the Sons of Anarchy trademark and related copyrights. To resolve the case (CACD Case No. cv-10-8565), Mortimer and Renegade agreed that they would be permanently enjoined from any future use of the SONS OF ANARCHY trademark, or the manufacture and distribution of any copyrighted material from the “Sons of Anarchy” television series. They also agreed to pay to Fox $50,000 for each future violation of the consent order. Now, Mortimer and his company are seeking to register trademarks that would trade on SMRi’s goodwill. “Even while claiming SMRi has no such trademark rights, and while calling themselves the ‘Concerned Citizens for Sturgis,’ a Concerned Citizen is trying to trademark Sturgis Rally Week for himself for purely commercial interests,” said SMRi Board President Dean Kinney. “We thought it important that someone protected the Sturgis® brand, and do it on behalf of the Sturgis community. Some people call Concerned Citizens’ and Renegade’s actions ‘astroturfing,’ in which for-profit companies form a fake grassroots organization to generate support for their corporate, for-profit agenda. Mortimer’s effort to monopolize the term “Sturgis Rally Week” while serving as President of the “Concerned Citizens for Sturgis” is evidence of this.” SMRi was created as a non-profit to support the local community through management of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the intellectual property associated with it to facilitate the vitality and relevance of the most prestigious motorcycle rally in the world. Kinney notes that SMRi’s ownership of Sturgis-related marks can be traced back to the 1938 origin of motorcycle rallies in the Sturgis area. Since then, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has become the basis for tourism in Sturgis and the surrounding area. SMRi is charged with growing and strengthening the Sturgis® brand to build stronger motorcycle tourism, notoriety for the rally, and a stronger local economy. Nearly 100% of the funds given to Sturgis Rally Charities over the years have been generated directly as a result of trademarks. The City of Sturgis, a licensee of SMRi, generates funds through the sale of sponsorships. SMRi, from licensing funds, makes an annual donation to Sturgis Rally Charities Foundation, which is tasked with improving the quality of life for residents in and around Sturgis. “SMRi’s legal battle is against a few select individuals who, purely for business and profit motives, don’t want to become Sturgis® licensees or procure officially licensed product from existing licensees,” said Kinney. “SMRi expects to ultimately return millions of dollars back to the Sturgis community through the rally, ownership and control of the related marks and intellectual property, and charitable giving. We will continue to aggressively protect the Sturgis® brand to enable that to happen.” (SMRI PHOTO) BUCK’S TWO CENTS How can a California based company ethically lay any claim to any Sturgis name? Wouldn’t that be the same as a Sturgis based company calling itself the “Los Angeles Tee Shirt Company?” That would be a misleading name yes? Legal issues aside, what and where are the ethics of this “California Based” Renegade Company. I’m a Sturgis resident, and have never heard of them before now. I’m a concerned citizen, but no one from Renegade has contacted me. Why I oughta……where’s my rifle? Where’s my dog…..where the hell is winter? Did it miss us completely? Love

WHY IS MOTORCYCLE RIDING SO MUCH FUN?

Love Originally posted by Buck Lovell on Thursday, 05 January 2012 in Buck Lovell’s – American Biker Blog BECAUSE TURNING IS LEANING AND VICE VERSA………IF I NEED TO EXPLAIN…..YOU COULDN’T POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND! Love

SUICIDE CLUTCH……A DEFINITION

Love Originally posted by Buck Lovell on Monday, 12 December 2011 in Buck Lovell’s – American Biker Blog RIDING WITH NO FRONT BRAKE CAN BE SUICIDE, BUT IT’S FUN THOUGH!! I’ve seen the term “suicide shifter” used in describing a plain old ordinary tank shift. Simple ignorance caused that. There is however such a thing as a “Suicide Clutch.” I’ll tell ya why. Back in the good old days, long before foot shift was standard equipment, tank shift and foot clutch was the method used. Let’s use Harley-Davidson motorcycles as an example. The foot clutch was of the rocker type, meaning it could be “rocked” to the disengaged position, and it would stay in that position until the rider nudged it with his or her foot in the opposite direction. The rider would then control the engagement with the foot. In other words the clutch was not spring loaded. Clutch pedal movement was determined by foot position. If the rider slid his foot off the clutch pedal while it was in the disengaged position it would stay disengaged. The stock rocker clutch did have a spring that would pull the pedal towards the engaged position only after the clutch was “rocked” out of the disengaged position. Safety first for this style clutch. Early Chopper builders modified the rocker clutch so it was spring loaded, and would not stay “rocked out” in the disengaged position. This allowed for much faster clutch action. It also meant that the rider had to maintain foot pressure on the clutch to keep it disengaged. NO big deal! Many early chopper builders/riders/Outlaw bikers also decided to remove the front brake. This was done not only for cosmetic reasons, removing the front brake also lightened the motorcycle by quite a bit. If you look at old chopper photos from the 1950’s and 1960’s, even through the 1970s, many times you’ll see custom bikes or chopper with a clean looking front-end that has no front brake. This is when the suicide name caught on. A motorcycle rider while riding steep hills such as found in the city of San Francisco was subject to traffic lights like all the other traffic. If that rider was riding a chopper equipped with no front brake, hand shift (jockey shift or tank-shift) and a clutch that was modified to act as a spring loaded clutch, that rider could not easily stop and start at traffic lights. If the rider stopped at light on a steep hill using the right foot on the brake, the transmission would need to be neutral. The right foot would be holding the brake engaged the left foot would be on the ground with the left leg holding the bike upright. It took speed and coordination to quickly put the right foot down to hold the bike up, then the left foot to push the clutch pedal down, the left hand would slam the tranny into first, and the rider could then let the clutch out and go. This was virtually impossible to do on a very steep hill, so riders took to running the traffic lights rather than attempting a stop & go. More than a few were killed in the process. And that, my friends is how the suicide clutch got his name. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it! Enough riders were killed for other riders (and the cops) to consider it suicide to ride a motorcycle equipped as described. But then again, all the macho guys went straight to the suicide set-up, for macho reasons alone. Back in the good old days real bikers shunned the wearing of leather. Back then, only sissies wore leather. Also, if a jockey-top is mounted rather than a ratchet-top (four speed transmission only) when hand shifting, blazingly fast power shifts can be made, and wheelies will happen. It’s more fun than a high speed chase! I rode a rigid frame Panhead for years with a foot-clutch, jockey shift, and no front brake. I purchased the motorcycle so equipped and once I got familiar with it, I saw no reason to change. I also wore a leather jacket; I like my skin too much I guess. When myself and friends rode up to San Francisco to cruise the Haight Ashbury district, the guys with front brakes rode behind the guys without front brakes, and held them in place on the steep hills at traffic lights by putting their front wheel against my and others rear wheel. That’s what friends are for. Hardly anyone runs without a front brake these days, but there are a few. See the photo of the purple bike seen here. Foot clutch, no front brake, and hand shift. The owner makes a point of riding it exclusively on flat roads. I don’t blame him, anything else is beyond scary. Then again, I miss my old Panhead; I must have put 200,000 miles on that bike without committing suicide. Came close a few times though. I’ll tell ya about one of those later on. Pictured is a stock Harley-Davidson rocker clutch pedal assembly. Harley’s pedal functioned as heel down disengaged. Indian motorcycles rocker clutch function as toe down disengaged. This late model custom motorcycle has no front brake. The clutch is foot operated. Shifting is by hand with the shifter located just in front of the oil bag and just above the belt drive primary. No front brake, foot clutch, and hand shift. It’s a suicide clutch, that’s a fact. Clean and lean, we don’t see bikes like this anymore………bummer. Chrome don’t get ya home………I love chrome…….it does look good even when sitting on the side of the road LOL…. Buck 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