October 22nd, 2008
Feds want Mongols' trademark as part of prosecution
In a 177-page indictment, the feds have charged the Latino motorcycle gang Mongols with a massive number of crimes including murder, torture, drug trafficking and more. Dozens have been arrested; more than 100 arrest warrants have issued.
But there’s a bit of unusual coup de grace to the prosecution, AP reports:
U.S. Attorney Thomas O’Brien has asked for an injunction that would seize the Mongols’ trademarked name. If the order is approved, any Mongol would no longer be able to wear a jacket displaying the gang’s name or emblem. “It would allow law enforcement to seize the leather jackets right off their back,” O’Brien said.
My friend Art Medlar asks:
And when they add the heavy metal umlaut .. Mongöls .. then what?
The Mongols registered their trademark in 2005. But, you know, when you’re running that much dope, you can afford lawyers. Check this out, from Portfolio.com:
[A]ccording to the federal trademark registry, the non-profit Mongol Nation assigned the trademark to a Pasadena, California, company called Shotgun Productions L.L.C. earlier this year. If that’s the case, and Shotgun Productions can’t be tied to any of the alleged criminal enterprise, it could be hard for the feds to take the mark away.
