Judge won’t make Mongols biker gang surrender trademark logo
UPDATE: 2/28/2019 12:17 p.m. A California federal judge has refused to order the Mongols motorcycle gang to forfeit its trademarked logo, delivering a blow to prosecutors.
U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter said Thursday that such an order would have been unconstitutional.
Mongols attorney Joe Yanny says the ruling is a victory for the bikers and ordinary citizens because it shows the federal government abused its power.
Prosecutors say the ruling nullifies a first-of-its-kind jury verdict in January that found the gang should be stripped of its trademarked logo of a Mongol warrior on a chopper-style motorcycle.
Prosecutors argued the logo was core to the identity of the Los Angeles area-based gang responsible for drug dealing and murder.
Prosecutors say they are disappointed by the ruling and may appeal.
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Federal prosecutors say a California jury has decided the Mongols motorcycle gang should be stripped of its trademarked logo.
Jurors in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on Friday found that the government could seize control of the group’s trademark.
The jury previously found the Mongol Nation, the entity that owns the image of a Mongol warrior on a chopper, guilty of racketeering and conspiracy.
Prosecutors argued the Los Angeles-area based group is a criminal enterprise responsible for drug dealing and murder and the logo was at the core of the gang’s identity.
A lawyer for the group says the club doesn’t tolerate criminal activity and kicks out bad members.
The first-of-its-kind ruling is intended to prevent members from wearing the cherished patches.
