I am very pleased to announce that the Patriot Guard Riders Inc, has filed a motion for Summary Judgment with the USPTO. After review of all the documents produced and depositions, we believe that Opposer has not provided any grounds for his opposition to our Trademark filing and are asking the Review Board to award the mark rights without trial before the Board. From viewing the documents and depositions, I believe we have made a very strong case for Summary Judgment. On my personal belief, it is unanswerably strong.
This motion will affect the published schedule of timelines. My understanding is that all dates will be placed on hold while the USPTO Review Board rules on our Motion and Opposer will have an opportunity to respond. If the Review Board finds merit in our motion, they can award the mark at that point. They can also choose to finish the trial with a new schedule for the remaining proceedings.
With the Discovery phase and requests for documents and disclosures closed, I can now share more information to explain where we are, the course we have taken, and why a Legal Defense Fund was necessary. To do so, I'll explain a bit of history of events.
Our legal counsel offices are in Chicago and they were retained by the previous BoD. David and Jim both believe in our mission and the substance of our trademark filing. The initial estimate I was given upon election to the BoD was that the trademark defense would cost up to $150k. The question of whether the organization should defend the filing was voted on in a conference call with the Regional Captains before approving the action.
That estimate was unchanged when I became President of the organization and assumed responsibility for the legal issues. In light of the changes in the BoD last spring, I asked that a second BoD member also be kept current in the details of our situation and strategy in case I was ever unable to see this through for any reason. Donnie Snyder, our Vice President - Captains agreed to do so.
Sometime around Summer or Fall, I don't remember the exact month, the legal fees had reached the approximate level of $75k; Gary Everett, Corporate Treasurer, received notice that our next billed amount would be over $90k. Being somewhat shocked by this amount and knowing we hadn't reached depositions yet, I scheduled an immediate conference call with the legal team and Donnie Snyder to gain an understanding of the billing changes.
My understanding is that the biggest increase in costs was caused by a tremendous document "dump" the Opposer had dropped on our team. I believe it is in excess of 10,000 pages. Every page had to be read and weighed for any single sentence that might be a factor. We are talking about entire threads that might have one post about the store, or our non-profit status, or any PGR item. I am confident in stating that the vast majority of this "evidence" has no relevance to the dispute. I have copies of all of the documents for the corporate records and searched the documents produced. An entire page that has nothing on it except for WeScoot's avatar or the "Send Message" icon really can't be be considered to have any evidentiary value that I can think of. These pages were easily sorted out, but the mass of thread postings probably took hundreds of hours or more to resolve. In addition to the "dump", our attorneys were obligated by the rules governing the Opposition proceeding to respond to a very broad request by Opposer's attorney to produce documents which were relevant to the issues involved, or even could lead to documents that might be relevant to the issues involved. This broad request also contributed significantly to the increased expense.
I'd like to note here that David Marr and Jim O'Malley, our legal team, have discounted their fees by 20%, because they do believe in what we do and want to help us. They've also been acquiring an education in many of our biker phrases and names that are new to them.
Donnie and I took the information we had to the rest of the BoD. It is clear to us that Opposer was doing his utmost to either bankrupt the organization or force us to relinquish all rights to him. We had to make a decision and unfortunately, we had to make it confidentially. The new estimate is likely to approach $300k. At the point we learned this, we had already incurred $200k in costs; the initial $75k, the bill we were expecting for over $90k, and the current months expenses. Sharing this information would have let Opposer know that he was succeeding in driving up the cost to the PGR, how that would affect the organization, and add weight to his supporters who opposed our defense.
We also weren't able to put this information out to the SC's for input. Some of the documents filed by Opposer were copied from our Captain's Areas that Opposer had no access to. We've always known that we've had Captain's that support Opposer's claims. Indeed, some of them are expecting a "payoff" of being named to leadership positions if Opposer were to win the rights to the mark and started his for profit PGR. Let me be perfectly clear, some of the documents I have in my possession are emails exchanges between Opposer and folks that held leadership roles in the PGR. Some of these members have been removed, and some are still current. These emails are specific and name states and some SCs directly that were contacted and said to be supportive of overthrowing the National organization.
We have not removed any member or leader specifically for supporting Opposer. Any members removed have been for violating PGR policies or where there was evidence they were working against the organization. I trust that everyone can agree that you can't work to hurt the organization and still be entrusted as a leader within it.
I know I got a bit off target with the last, but it was important to share. To help guide the BoD to representing the goals of the organization, without aiding Opposer, I posted five anonymous question polls in an SC only forum. These questions addressed if the PGR should have rights to the name, if Opposer should have them, and if either party should be able to sell merchandise. The results of the polls were overwhelming in support of the PGR having sole rights to the mark. With that knowledge and the fact that the $200k already incurred would be thrown away if we withdrew; we continued in support of the application. The main difference, other than the cost, is that we now held information and amounts to be confidential to prevent Opposer from attempting to escalate costs higher.
That brings us to where we are today.
I know that there are those who support the Opposer and feel that he deserves income for his actions on behalf of the Patriot Guard Riders Inc. Why? No other position in the PGR, Inc. has asked for or received income. This isn't why we are involved in the mission. It's not just about being able to fund the organization or one person's profit. If it was, Opposer would have accepted the negotiation that offered him $50k and lifetime rights to sell PGR merchandise. Don't tell me his only goal is that he feels he deserves compensation for what all of the rest of us do because it's a good, right, caring, patriotic, and moral thing that we feel in our hearts. What compensation do you think he has already received? I know from my experience with the stores sales since November 2006 what the PGR makes annually. Accordingly, Brown's profits were likely at least that much That is my own personal estimate, and I believe I am being conservative. During depositions and under oath, Opposer was asked several times to state his store income. He stated that he had no idea.
These and other details will likely become public knowledge. It is my intention to post the depositions as a whole if/when the legal team agrees. At that point, you can each form your own opinions. I wouldn't be so open about planning to do this unless I was confident about what you will read.
Now you know exactly where we stand, what it is costing us (at least as much as the BoD does), and why/how we got here. You also know where we intend to go. If you are able, please support the LDF. I know that times are tight and we all are struggling to make ends meet. I know that some of you are laid off. I've been cut back to 3 day work weeks since the start of the year, so it's tight here too. I do not want anyone to make a donation that you know you shouldn't. A $10 donation from every active member would retire most if not all of these fees and return the store to helping our families. You honestly don't know how much I hate asking you to give beyond the missions. I'm going to try to explain how I feel about this by posting part of a letter that wasn't sent to me, but forwarded to me by the recipient. The person writing it is a State Captain that I was fortunate enough to be able to meet at GOTG08. He can identify himself if he wishes; I don't want to put him on the spot. I hope his words will tell you more than I can. It also makes me sound nicer than I'd claim on my own...
Louann, tell Bill he rocks, that is why most of us chose to follow him and his leadership. I stood along side Bill at the GOTG, I saw the tears run down his face as everyone was giving their donations, he looked at me and said this is not right, I hate to have to ask them for money, I told him that he never asked.... I saw his passion, and he was thinking only about each and every person giving their hard earned money. Not once did he drool and say money, money, money.
This is your organization, yours to keep and maintain. I'm not a wealthy individual by any means. I'm middle class, probably just like most of you. But I can and have made multiple donations since the start of the LDF. If only 8000 members donated $5 a month, in less than 5 months we'd be there. I know that we can make that happen. I will add another $25 today myself. Can 7,999 more members help at $5 a month for the next 5 months? If we get there early, the LDF donation link will be removed.
A few more items I would like to address and render appreciation for.
Zippy has rebuilt the Captain's Area to become a useful and productive place to share information and get answers to questions. In the process guidelines and policies have and will be updated. Captain's please take a moment to thank her and assist her in maintaining your area on the site.
Louann has been doing an amazing job as your National Captain. I think she may be spending more time on PGR issues than I am at this point; which is just fine with me! Louann has been clarifying many questions for the Regional and State Captains and being their voice for questions and concerns. I am very thankful for the work she is doing.
I am continually surprised and impressed by new stories of what our membership can accomplish for our families and veterans. From standing the flag line, Welcome Homes, HOTH projects, Veteran homes and hospital visits, and clothing donations for our homeless brothers and sisters. It seems that everyday brings a new way or place in which you make a difference! I am honored beyond words to be the President of the Patriot Guard Riders.
I'd like to ask that all members be aware that the Patriot Guard Riders name and logo cannot be used without written consent from the BoD. State specific designs can only be submitted by the State Captain and must also be approved. States can only produce approved items with their own state design. (Example: Missouri cannot offer to sell coins with an Ohio design.) We must have rules, records, and authorization for use of the mark.
There are several positions that we need volunteers for, most notably Store Manager, Communications Officer, HOTH Director, and most of the site teams could always use assistance.
I'd also like to ask everyone to continue to ride and drive safely. Please make a safety inspection a part of your mission preparation. Especially take care to inspect and maintain your flags and mounts, for safety and respect for Old Glory.
Thank you.
edited on 31 January 09 to correct 0400 math...