Lesbian bike brigade demands trademark for club name

San Francisco will join lesbian motorcycle club “Dykes on Bikes” in its drive to have its name trademarked by the US patent office, a city official said.

A measure slated for vote by city council’s executive, the board of supervisors, Tuesday will generate a formal declaration urging the patent office to grant the bikers the trademark, which was earlier denied on the grounds the word “dyke” was offensive. “We expect it to pass,” said Tomas Lee, a spokesman for Tom Amiano, a member of the executive who proposed the measure. “Dykes on Bikes is a community institution and quite well known, worldwide too.”

Dykes on Bikes has led every Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco since the first procession some 30 years ago, Lee said. The macho motorcycle riders often sport leather chaps, vests and caps while cavorting on their mean machines. Female passengers are known to ride topless, proudly showing off tattoos or piercings.

Dykes on Bikes has led gay pride parades in other major world cities, such as Paris, London, Tokyo and Sydney, according to Lee. Lee pointed out that the US television show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” has been allowed to lay legal claim to its name, and argued that it is an unequal standard to deny Dykes on Bikes.

The lesbian bikers could posse-up and ride to the federal patent office with the city proclamation, using it to renew their bid for a trademark that would protect the Dykes on Bikes name from being used by imposters, Lee said. “Their purpose is primarily educational, not commercial,” Lee said of the motorcycle club. afp

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