Feds Want Biker Gang's Trademark Back

A case soon to be argued in a Los Angeles courtroom pits The Mongols Nation against the federal government. The Mongols Nation is said to be largest motorcycle gang in southern California, and the government clams it’s a fount of  criminal activity. The organization registered it’s logo – Genghis Khan with a pony tail riding a bike – with the PTO in 2005, but as part of a plea deal it forfeited the mark. Years later, explains Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty attorney Michael Lee, a judge lifted part of the ban and their logo was returned. Now the government wants it back again, and a court date is set for June 2. In a background article on the case that appeared last year, Mongols attorney Joseph A. Yanny maintained that his client is not a gang. It’s a club, he said, and criminal activity cited by the government was carried out by rogue actors who were no longer members.