Features
Sturgis Group Wins Trademark Case
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Inc. is owed almost $1 million by Walmart and a local merchant, Rushmore Photo & Gifts, as a Rapid City, S.D., jury ruled Oct. 30 the companies infringed on company’s trademarks.
Photo: AP Photo/Steve McEnroe, file
Hundreds of thousands of bikers descend on the town of Sturgis, S.D., every August for the annual Sturgis Rally.
SMRI, the organizer and sponsor of the massive annual rally, sued the two companies for improperly using the “Sturgis” trademark on merchandise they sold.
The defendants challenged the claim, alleging the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce lied when it convinced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to grant the trademark and that the regional descriptive can’t be trademarked.
The jury didn’t buy that argument and awarded SMRI more than $900,000 in damages to be paid by a combination of the owners of Rushmore Photo & Gifts and Walmart, according to the Rapid City Journal.
One of the shop’s owners, Paul Niemann, told the paper his party will appeal. “We absolutely do respect the jury’s decision,” he told the Journal, but added he believes the jurors “may have been out of their depth” given the complexity of trademark and copyright law.
SMRI is a non-profit that reportedly calls itself the “official steward” of the Sturgis brand. It issues licensing agreements for the trademarks “Sturgis,” “Sturgis Motorcycle Rally,” “Sturgis Rally & Races,” “Take The Ride To Sturgis” and “Sturgis Bike Week.”