unincorporated association
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The First Amendment and Collective Marks
The government has been trying to seize the MONGOLS trademark for over ten years. You can read my previous posts about it here, here, here and here. The Mongol Nation, an unincorporated association, owned or owns several registrations for a trademark, service marks and collective membership marks for the word mark MONGOLS, the riding figure,… Continue reading
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It’s All About the Evidence
One of the interesting things about TTAB proceedings is that there is no live testimony before the people who will decide the case, the judges. That’s generally a good thing; it means the proceeding is less expensive and time-consuming. Trial testimony is done like a deposition, with just the parties and a court reporter, and… Continue reading
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Who Do You Associate “BorderFest” With?
There’s an interesting trademark ownership fact pattern as described by a Texas state appeals court in Vera v. City of Hidalgo. I find it interesting in two ways. First, there is no mention of the statutory or common law basis for the claim. It’s characterized as ownership of a cultural festival name, but the court… Continue reading
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But What’s the End Game?
The U.S. government has been in a multi-year, multi-indictment quest to acquire the trademarks of the Mongols motorcycle club. You can find the whole complicated background here, but the short version is that, because of improper assignments, the government indicted the wrong party the first time around. So the government is back, this time indicting… Continue reading
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Corporation versus Unincorporated Association
One of the issues I often write about is what entity, exactly, owns a trademark. As described by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, “feuding members of extended family businesses, aging pop bands, or religious organizations riven by theological schisms” are frequent litigants because trademarks can be adopted with great informality and no documentation. Sometimes… Continue reading
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The Drifters, Yet Again
One thing that’s sure to make my eyes roll back into my head is the word “Drifters” in a case caption. Westlaw has 13 cases listed, 8 federal, 3 state and 2 TTAB. Now the TTAB has had another crack at it, including looking at evidence that goes all the way back to the very… Continue reading
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Schooling on Unincorporated Associations
The Ninth Circuit has given us a lesson on unincorporated associations and two different legal concerns when one is involved in a trademark infringement lawsuit: the association’s capacity to own trademarks and to bring a lawsuit for infringement. The plaintiff is the Southern California Darts Association (“SoCal”), which promotes darts competitions and coordinates leagues. It… Continue reading
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A Sensible Decision
John Welch at the must-read site The TTABlog published a post about a recent ownership decision, Conolty v. Conolty O’Connor NYC LLC. The gist is that two women started a business without any formal business structure, one of the women, O’Connor, formed the defendant LLC as a single member limited liability company, and the LLC… Continue reading
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The Mongols Have Their Colors Back (For Real)
The whole Mongols trademark seizure case is a little confusing, so this story is put together from a few different decisions in two different cases. Two marks, the MONGOLS word mark for “association services, namely, promoting the interests of persons interested in the recreation of riding motorcycles” and the “Image Mark“ for “jackets and t-shirts”… Continue reading
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Factions Having a Common History
The caption tells it all: 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, Inc. v. 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. As explained by the TTAB: Opposers’ pleadings herein contain three grounds for refusing applicant registration: (1) priority and likelihood of confusion; (2) likelihood of dilution; and (3) that applicant is not the rightful owner… Continue reading
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