A Kenosha man is being sued by Harley-Davidson after he allegedly sold several items of clothing, along with accessories, that used the company’s trademarked logos. A complaint for trademark counterfeiting, trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition was filed against Sherron Leggett Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. According to
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One of Leggett's "Harley F---in Davidson" t-shirts. Image pulled from court documents.[/caption]
There are already several authorized licensees of Harley-Davidson merchandise in the U.S. and all licensees follow several guidelines. Those guidelines prohibit any vulgar or crude content, depictions of any religious symbols, displays of guns and any violent depictions of skulls. All licensed merchandise must receive written approval from the company before being manufactured and sold.
"H-D and its authorized dealers have earned many billions of dollars from the sale of apparel products and services over the years. In 2022 alone, H-D earned over $270 million from the sale of apparel," according to the complaint.
This past March, Leggett allegedly filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seeking to trademark the phrase ‘Harley F---ing Davidson.’
In September, legal counsel for Harley-Davidson sent Leggett a letter requesting he immediately stop using the company’s trademarks on his apparel.
"(Leggett) appears to have removed listings for some of the infringing products from (his) websites, but he refused to remove listings for products bearing 'Harley F---ing Davidson,'" according to the complaint.
The company is seeking an injunction permanently stopping Leggett from selling his counterfeit apparel, along with statutory damages in the amount of $2 million “per trademark, per type of product or service sold, offered for sale, or distributed by defendant bearing marks deemed to be willful counterfeits of the H-D trademarks.”
Neither the company nor Leggett immediately responded to requests for comment Thursday.