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• Battles over brand names related to the motorcycle rally have been going on for decades.
• Sturgis vendor Tom Monahan in 1986 created what was deemed the official rally logo and donated it to the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce with the agreement that only he could produce merchandise with that design for a per-shirt fee.
• While some vendors sought licenses to produce shirts with that logo, other vendors tried to change the rally's name to "Sturgis Bike Week." That prompted the chamber to seek trademarks.
• Sturgis Motorcycle

Rally Inc. was formed in 2010, and the nonprofit obtained all of the chamber's trademarks. Sneed said the chamber and city each have seats on the nonprofit's board of directors.
• Last fall, a group of businesses formed Concerned Citizens for Sturgis petitioned the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office asking that it cancel Sturgis Motorcycle Rally's "Sturgis" and "Black Hills" trademarks, saying the terms are geographically descriptive and shouldn't be trademarked. A federal appeals board in March agreed to wade into the dispute.
• Concerned Citizens said that when the rally applied to register the marks, it falsely claimed in its application that no one else was marketing and promoting "Sturgis" goods despite their use by numerous motorcycle clubs, campgrounds and local businesses.
• Niemann said his company has been around for 75 years.

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