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(San Francisco) San Francisco lesbian bikers have won a major battle with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

For more than a year the San Francisco Women’s Motorcycle Contingent has been trying to trademark the name 'Dykes on Bikes'.

The non-profit group is a fixture at San Francisco gay pride celebrations. It says it decided to obtain a trademark for 'Dykes on Bikes' to protect the non-commercial use of the name and its meaning to the LGBT community from private commercial use.

'The Trademark Office twice rejected the group’s application on the ground that the word 'dyke' is disparaging to lesbians. 

The group sought the help of  the Brooke Oliver Law Group and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

They then submitted more than two dozen expert declarations from scholars, linguists, psychologists, and activists demonstrating how the word “dyke” has evolved to become a positive term and that lesbians view 'Dykes On Bikes' as empowering.

Nevertheless, the Trademark Office then denied the request a final time.

The group appealed to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, with the additional help of Townsend and Townsend and Crew, a law firm that specializes in intellectual property.

This week the appeal board reversed the decision and notified the group that it can trademark the name.

[...]

This will be the first time the term “dyke” has been trademarked as a stand alone part of a trademark.

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'The Trademark Office twice rejected the group’s application on the ground that the word 'dyke' is disparaging to lesbians.

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It's like when my friend wore a dog collar to school and got sent home for it because it was "insulting to women" (atleast, according to the old, male principal). Nope, all of us women, queer or not are too stupid to decide for ourselves what's insulting and what's not. Yeesh.

[ 10 December 2005: Message edited by: Amy ]