Dykes On Bikes Win Suit Over Name Trademark

A federal appeals court in the United States ruled this week that the name “Dykes on Bikes” is inoffensive and a legitimate trademark, tossing out a lawsuit from a man who claimed the name was “scandalous and immoral.”
Continue reading

According to the Associated Press, the Dykes on Bikes motorcycle club, which leads San Francisco's annual gay pride parade, had spent years sparring with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in hopes of protecting the phrase, finally winning a trademark in 2005. The office has twice rejected the group's application, saying that “dyke” is a vulgar term.

Michael McDermott, a lawyer from Dublin, Calif., sued after the USPTO granted approval, calling the name “disparaging to men” and “scandalous and immoral.”

In the ruling issued Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that McDermott had no legal grounds to be offended.