FYI - There is no apostrophe in Hells Angels. 
I stand corrected! Theyāve built an entire brand and presence with poor grammar. To the outside observer, that might seem fitting.
Or maybe they were using Hells as a plural, not a possessive.
Then again, it is also quite possible that they were given a better deal on their embroidered patches if they removed the apostrophe.
Personally though, I think they did it just to troll all the grammar knotsies out there. 
I have one like thisā¦still unopenedā¦
Nice. One of my friends just hit up TRU, and they had them available in red, yellow, and black. I will be trying to pick up one of each color this weekend.
The Hells Angels trademark filing has no mention of toys of any kind. Curious how thatās going to affect the case.
LOL
;D ;D ;D ;D
that was a good one, thanks for the laugh!
Ticking down the time until I can hit the local TRUā¦
Heck, if Iām gonna spend that kind of money, thereās a couple others I could pick up while Iām out. I decided to get all the colors.
I think they have every right to file for copyright infringement. The two images are freakishly similar. In any case, I hope Yomega go back to the old images on their yoyos. Hate the new one on the Raider and the new Fireball is just hideous.
Yuki
The filings reference to Exhibit B, which is a photo of a Red Yomega Raider., but you are right. The trademark specifically covers
and not toys.
Now, that said, they have successfully sued Marvel Comics in the past but that could be covered under 'books" I guess
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Hmm, I donāt like the sound of thisā¦
Adhesive labels. But more importantly itās also covered under artwork as well which is a non specific I think. And they can more then prove their artwork was first. Not to mention they have gone after many corporations before and won. Read the insignia section here:
Made it down to the local TRU. Sad. No black in stock except in this Rader/Fireball/Brain with Brain Lube pack, and there were 4 of those, and the black Raider has the āoffending graphicā. There were an orange, yellow and red transparent in stock, so I snapped up the red and yellow.
I beat the Clapp! If I feel really motivated, I might post photos.
This seems excessive to me. Then again, the hells angels are just about the worst mainstream gang these days. Guns, drugs, and now legal battles with toy companies? Golly, when will they catch a break!
I am SO picking up 2.
Yomega unfortunately is busted, but the HA did steal their ādeath-headā logo from the old puritan symbol. :
You Sir, are correct. Fellavader is also correct about the Celtics logo and Lucky Charms cereal. Iām no expert, but took a class in law school about intellectual property, I have had federal and state trademarks of my own (consulted with attorneys on those) and have a few friends who practice in that area.
The court will decide based not only on the similarity of the design, but how closely related a yo-yo is with a biker club, and based on that relation, how likely it is that the average yo-yo customer would confuse the yo-yo with the biker club. If you passed that yo-yo around a room of yo-yoers, who are potential customers for the Raider, how many would say, āWow, Hells Angels has their own yo-yo now.ā The answer to that is the result of the case. There you have it.
If a person selling motorcycle helmets put that logo on their helmets, there is an issue, because people who shop for motorcycle helmets would be more sophisticated about the existence of the Hells Angels and their logo, and due to how a motorcycle helmet and a motorcycle club are so closely related (related to motorcycles) the confusion is more evident, making it a strong case.
I see Yomega clearly winning this, good for them for ignoring the cease and desist, if itās true, and they will win. Case dismissed. Oh, and when Hells Angels loses the suit, they should owe Yomega for attorneys fees related to the frivolous case. Oh, and I agree, buy a Raider, itās awesome with or without the skull wings. Iām more a fan of Yomega now, for not getting pushed around. Good job.
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More notes:
Seems Fritz Clapp has been on a regional TRU rampage. Iāve been at 4 TRUās recently, following up on my purchase of 2. All have said the same thing:
A large man with a mean spirit, bad attitude and personality to match, bullying employees and demanding āall inventoryā. He does pay for them, as the store has flat out said āyou can have all the ones you want to pay forā. He pays and then storms off but not before diatribing everyone.
If anything, he may be single-handedly making Yomega rich.
My take on the whole thing:
I wouldnāt recognize a HA logo if I saw it. Why? Iām not a biker. Iāve also had friends who were HAās. Why arenāt they friends anymore? Life happens and theyāve moved away, no other reason. Iām not into bikes, in fact I hate them. Or scared. Not sure. I can safely say I donāt want to ride one, but on nicely designed ones, I can appreciate the design and mechanics of these machines.
So, the trademark protection basis is mostly so HA can do ādue diligenceā and protect the fact that they own a certain symbol. Win or lose, it will just show they will fight to protect it.
Really, I didnāt even want a pair of Raiders. But now I do. Now they are mine, and thatās that. They actually arenāt all that bad either!
So, I think CLAPP will be making a bunch of noise for a while. This may also go to court since heās got ābig company with big dollarsā to go up against. The prospect of getting serious bank is very attractive. The end results should be interesting and amusing.
I think every single yoyoer who has seen this is like āwhoa! imma go buy 2ā Yomega is making out like a bandit.
Meh how I see it lots of food companies mimic each other to get confused by the brands
I was out and about and made sure I stopped by another TRU and picked up 2 more. I got the complete set now: black, orange, yellow and red.
Yomega may not be my favorite brand, but I have no ill will towards them. I wasnāt expecting on popping $64 on Raiders this week. Oh well. They are mine now!