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1 March 2019Trademarks

Biker trademark cannot be part of criminal forfeiture, court rules

A district court judge has overturned a verdict to strip the California-based Mongols Motorcycle Club of its trademark, after a jury found its members guilty of murder and drug crimes.

In a ruling yesterday, February 28, at the  US  District Court for the Central District of California, the David Carter said the forfeiture of a symbol that has been used by the organisation since 1969 was unconstitutional.

In December 2018, a jury convicted the Mongols club of racketeering and conspiracy charges and found the group responsible for murder, attempted murder and drug crimes committed by its individual members.

As part of the forfeiture phase of the trial, the jury voted unanimously that the Mongols club should lose control of its trademark. It said there was a direct link between the club’s image and its crimes.

But Carter ruled that stripping the club of its trademark was “grossly unjustified and disproportionate” to its offences.

The Mongols’ members use the mark on their leather riding jackets to identify other members of the club.

The mark consists of an illustrated figure on a motorcycle with the word Mongols written above in bold.

Carter said that denying Mongols’ members the ability to display their logo on their jackets would violate the freedom of expression embedded in the 1st amendment.

“There is a realistic danger that the transfer of the rights associated with the symbol to the government will have a chilling effect,” Carter wrote.

Carter likened the club to a ship and said that by overstepping the freedom of expression granted by the amendment, the government “was not merely seeking forfeiture of the ship’s sails”, it is “attempting to change the meaning of the ships flag”.

He said the government was within its rights to strip the club of its weapons, ammunition and other contraband, but he questioned the need to seize control of the club’s intellectual property.

Prosecutors had argued that the club should be stripped of its mark because it was used to “generate fear among the general public” and encourage lawful acts. But, Carter said this was not sufficient reason to strip the club of its mark, or to justify the restriction of free speech.

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