Seizing intellectual property … of a motorcycle gang?

The Mongols Motorcycle Club, or Mongols MC, is based in southern California. It has an estimated 1,000 members, and it has a logo.

A trademarked logo.

According to the U.S. government, it’s also a criminal organization, engaged in everything from drug trafficking to murder; 79 members were named in a recent racketeering indictment.

Yesterday, the government also had a bit of success in a different avenue it is pursuing vis a vis the Mongols MC:

U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper on Wednesday granted an injunction that prohibits gang members, their family members and associates from wearing, licensing, selling or distributing the logo, which typically depicts the profile of a Mongolian warrior wearing sunglasses.

According to the AP, this is “believed to be the first case in the nation in which the government has sought to take control of a gang’s identity — via its logo — through a court order.”

The upshot, as I understand it from the story, is that anything with a Mongols MC logo on it is now subject to seizure. I gather that the “club” or “gang” or whatever it is did in fact go through the legal steps to trademark its logo. But now that logo is, in effect, illegal.

UPDATE: I see now that Counterfeit Chic had a similar item two days ago, and has more, here. Cites an L.A. Times article explaining that the plan involves “the government [taking] over ownership of the trademark,” which would allow the seizures. I wonder if it would also allow them to cut some licensing deals!

[Thx: Harold C.]