In late 2009, the Daytona Beach Chamber of Commerce discovered that Consolidated Distributors, Inc., Joe Cool, Inc., and Mettemp Inc., were sending letters to local business threatening to sue them for damages if the local businesses did not pay a royalty for each item that was sold bearing the term “Daytona Beach Bike Week,” and its variations used during the event.
The Chamber hired the Cobb Cole law firm to file suit to stop the Defendants from claiming ownership of the town’s name. United States District Court Judge Mary Scriven issued an order prohibiting one local company and two New York companies from claiming exclusive ownership of the term “Daytona Beach Bike Week” and threatening others with prosecution if they did not pay for the use of the name.
In its decision the Court found that the Defendants were barred from claiming ownership of the term because “Daytona Beach Bike Week and its functional equivalents are generic and cannot receive trademark protection.” This means that the term Daytona Beach Bike Week belongs to the community, and not any one person or entity. The Chamber and co-plaintiffs Good Sports Daytona, Inc., were awarded a final judgment cancelling the Defendants attempt to trademark the term “Daytona Beach Bike Week” finding that the Defendant’s registration of the term as a trademark was “fraudulently obtained or, alternatively, was improperly granted.”
Daytona Regional Chamber Chairman of the Board, Thomas J. Leek, who is also a partner with Cobb Cole, enthusiastically endorsed the decision, “In our minds this was always a fight to protect our business community, our City, and the greater community at large, and specifically to fight off the Defendants’ attempt to take something that wasn’t theirs … and then charge people for using it. This ruling ensures that the mark will remain the property of the City of Daytona Beach and the community at large, for all local businesses and distributors to use in perpetuity. This is a significant milestone in that it will live as a warning to future trademark squatters, and provide protection for all to continue to enjoy the use the mark.”
The Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce has acted as managers of Bike Week in Daytona Beach since 1988, marking the formation of its Bike Week Festival Task Force. Comprised of over 30 individuals representing a variety of organizations and disciplines from both the public and private sectors, the Task Force acts as stewards of the event and performs many duties and functions geared toward improving the quality of the event and overall experience of Bike Week visitors.
The 71st Anniversary of the self-proclaimed “World’s Largest Motorcycle Event ” will be held March 9th through March 18th as Bike Week 2012 roars into Daytona Beach. Additional information on Bike Week in Daytona Beach can be found on the Official Daytona Bike Week Website at www.officialbikeweek.com or by contacting the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce at 386-255-0981.
– SOURCE Motor Sports Newswire
