## Facts

- A nonprofit lesbian motorcycle group applied to register the word mark “DYKES ON BIKES” on the Principal Register for services related to organizing and participating in events, including pride-parade participation.
- An individual filed a notice of opposition to the application before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).
- The opposer alleged the applicant engaged in “anti-male hate riots and activities” and claimed that federal registration would amount to government approval of alleged civil-rights violations against him.
- The opposer did not allege prior use or ownership of the mark, intent to use the mark, competition with the applicant, consumer confusion, or any commercial injury tied to the mark’s registration.
- The applicant moved to dismiss the opposition for lack of standing and failure to state a claim under the Lanham Act.

## Issues

1. Whether the opposer pleaded sufficient facts to establish standing to oppose registration under the Lanham Act (real interest and a reasonable basis for belief of damage).
2. Whether the opposition stated a legally cognizable ground to refuse registration within the TTAB’s registrability jurisdiction under the Lanham Act.

## Decision

- The TTAB granted the applicant’s motion to dismiss.
- The TTAB held the opposer lacked standing because he did not allege a direct, personal, trademark-related interest or a cognizable belief of damage from registration.
- The TTAB held, alternatively, that the opposition failed to state a claim because it did not plead a statutory basis under the Lanham Act on which the Board could refuse registration.
- The opposition was dismissed, and the application was permitted to proceed in the registration process.

## Legal Principles

- In a TTAB opposition, an opposer must show a real interest in the proceeding and a reasonable basis for believing it will be damaged by registration; generalized ideological or political objections do not satisfy this requirement.
- The Lanham Act’s “damage” requirement in oppositions concerns harms tied to trademark law and registrability, not alleged civil-rights injuries untethered to trademark interests.
- The TTAB’s authority is limited to determining registrability under the Lanham Act; it does not adjudicate generalized constitutional or civil-rights claims as independent grounds to block registration.
- An opposition must plead a specific, legally cognizable statutory bar to registration; conclusory allegations that a mark is offensive or that registration conveys government endorsement are insufficient absent a proper Lanham Act theory.

## Conclusion

The TTAB dismissed the opposition because the opposer asserted only political and civil-rights objections, not a trademark-related stake or a pleaded statutory ground for refusal, and the Board’s role is limited to registrability determinations under the Lanham Act.


McDermott v. San Francisco Women’s Motorcycle Contingent, 81 U.S.P.Q.2d 1212 (T.T.A.B. 2006)