When you think of motorcycle clubs, one of the last things you want to
think about are some of the legal issues surrounding the club, but next
to liability, protecting the various Iron Butt trademarks take up a good
portion of the Association's resources and unfortunately, budget.
Although you might be inclined to think this is nothing but a boring legal
notice for those doing trademark research, this is not the case. The Iron
Butt name has a rich history and following our name/trademark history
is a great way to learn a little more about the club's existence and growth.
Today, more than ever, it is vital to protect the
Iron Butt family of trademarks.
As a direct result of the Iron Butt Association's success in placing the
Iron Butt name in the press, in advertisements and in catalog and
product endorsements over the years, more and more people are trying to
take and use the Iron Butt name for their own profit. It is important
that each of our members work to protect the name and heritage that each
of you have earned by completing an Iron Butt Association ride. This club
has never aimed to make money by selling products to just anyone. As always,
the only way to enter the club is to earn your membership by completing an
Iron Butt Ride, not merely sending someone $10 for a shirt, hat or pin with an
"Iron Butt" blazed across it because they wanted to make a quick buck. If
just anyone can purchase an Iron Butt shirt, or hat, what value does that
make of the hard work you did to earn your Iron Butt credentials? On that
note, it is vital that you forward unauthorized usage of our names
to: Iron Butt Association, 1309 Coffeen Avenue STE 10276, Sheridan, Wyoming 82801, USA or
via e-mail:
[email protected]
Name and Trademark History:
1983:
"And what happened was this: At first there was darkness.
Then there was Mike Rose. And then all hell broke loose."Robert Higdon, The History of the Iron Butt RallyIBR HISTROY PART I (PDF download)
In 1986, the Iron Butt Association took the first step forward in protecting
the Iron Butt family of names. Back then the "family" consisted of Iron Butt
(as opposed to the health-sales industry where "iron men" were muscular, we
shaped the phrase to mean a tough-as-nails butt, or immune to pain and
eventually tough as iron, when used in connection to riding a motorcycle
long distances), Iron Butt Ride (a variety of one day or two day long
distance rides of 750 miles or more), Iron Butt
Run (where a group of rider completed an
Iron Butt Ride), Iron Butt Rider [a term that originated from "one that
rides long distances on an Iron Butt Association ride"], Iron Butt
Club [this was actually the original club's name, before Association was
adopted for the larger organization in 1987], Mile Eater (originally placed
on any rider that did more than a 1,000 miles in a day), Odo Heads (riders
that flipped their odometers over 100,000 miles), 100K Club (100,000 miles
or more in a year), additionally, we also protected the phrases
"Dedicated to Safe Long Distance Riding" (expanded in 1989 to "Dedicated to
Safe Long Distance Endurance Riding"),
"World's Toughest Motorcycle Riders" and "World's Toughest Riders"
(this phrase is used where our logo is present and where a lack of room
keeps motorcycle out of the artwork). We also placed trademarks on our
logos, an outline of the United States of America (used in different events,
but generally speaking with the word "Iron Butt" used inside or around
the outline and the more commonly known logo, a globe with the words
Iron Butt or Iron Butt Association through the face or around the globe
itself). Additionally, although protected by copyright on the artwork,
after a long, costly battle with a motorcycle club that took a portion
of artwork with a rider wearing iron underwear from the 1987 rally logo,
we decided advised that future rally logos would be individually trademarked
(in general a trademark offers broader legal coverage than Copyright does).
Beginning in 1991, all rally logos were marked as trademarks of each
individual rally (1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997).
Once material was prepared (including all certificates of accomplishment and
association stationary), a vigorous campaign was launched to educate
our members about trademark law as it related to our logo. Our primary
goal was to insure whenever someone used one of the Iron Butt family of names,
they included a tm after the name. To help forward this goal, stationary was
custom printed for personal use of key members of the club. Additionally,
members were asked to notify the club whenever they saw usage outside the
scope of the club so that we could notify organizations that they were
using an Iron Butt Association trademark.
Iron Butt, Iron Butt Association, SaddleSore and
BunBurner are registered Service and Trademarks
The Association is represented by:
Joseph T. Nabor
Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery
Suite 1600
120 S. La Salle Street
Chicago, IL 60603-3406
In 1987, Iron Butt Association member Dave McQueeney created and passed
ownership to the Iron Butt Association for the 50cc Quest
(50 hours coast to coast) and the 10/10ths (10 consecutive 1,000 mile days);
all material associated with the ride was noted with appropriate trademark
notations.
In 1988, Michael Kneebone created the National
Parks Tour Master Traveler Awards"
and Ultimate Coast to Coast Challenge". He turned over ownership to
the Iron Butt Association and on taking possession, all material associated
with the ride was noted with appropriate trademark notations.
In October of 1988, the Iron Butt Association obtained the trademark (and
ownership) of the Iron Butt Rally (the 11 day, 11,000 mile rally).
In line with IBA's catchy, "World's Toughest Motorcycle Riders"" the
The Iron Butt Association, new owner of the rally, took this opportunity
to protect the phrase, "World's Toughest Motorcycle Competition"" and
"World's Toughest Motorcycle Rally"" both which had become associated
with the Iron Butt Rally. In 2007 these trademarks were transferred to
IBA Sports.
In 1991, the Iron Butt Association acquired the rights of the Half-Fast 750",
SaddleSore" and Bun-Burner" trademarks from Les Martin owner of the
California Motorcycle Touring Association (CMTA). Spelling was standardized
among the rides.
In 1996, Iron Butt Association licensed usage of the names, on a limited
use basis, to Michael Gasper for the Half-Fast", SaddleSore" and Bun-Burner"
rides. We also provided certificates with
appropriate trademarks on the face.
In 1997, the Iron Butt Association licensed the use of "Butt" in TarButt rally
on a limited use basis. We also provided
certificates with appropriate trademarks on the face.
In 1997, the Iron Butt Association licensed the
use of "Butt" in TimberButt rally
on a limited use basis. We also provided
certificates with appropriate trademarks on the face.
In 1997, the Iron Butt Association licensed the
use of "Butt" in "Butt Lite Rally"
rally on a limited use basis. No trademark material was issued to the Butt Lite
Rally, however, their attorney is aware of trademark law and no problems
resulting from use is expected.
In 1998, the Iron Butt Association created a new ride (actually the idea
of Randell Hendricks from Texas and Donald Moses from Nevada), the
"CCC GOLD"" also known as "100ccc Insanity"" and all material associated with the
ride was noted with appropriate trademarks.
Iron Butt Association Trademarks:
1982 Iron Butt™ (Service Mark when used to describe a motorcycle ride or event), ™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats.
1982 Iron Butt Club™
1982 Iron Butt Ride™
1982 Iron Butt Run™
1987 Iron Butt Association� (new name from Iron
Butt Club which was kept for different rides). ™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1988 National Parks Tour Master Traveler Award™™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1988 Ultimate Coast to Coast Challenge™ ™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1989 "Dedicated to Safe Long Distance Endurance Riding"™ ™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1988 National Parks Tour Master Traveler Award™™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1989 "World's Toughest Motorcycle Riders"™™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1989 "World's Toughest Riders"™ ™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1989 "48 State Challenge"™ ™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1989 Various Iron Butt Association Logos (US Outline and World designs) ™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1991 acquired the rights of the Half-Fast 750™,
SaddleSore" and Bun-Burner" trademarks ™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1991 Iron Butt Rally Logo™™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1993 Iron Butt Rally Logo™ ™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1994 Grants limited use license to Gary Moore to
use Iron Butt in Iron Butt Motel T-Shirt
(this shirt was based on a trademarked logo from
the 1991 Iron Butt developed by Paige Ortiz)
1996 Granted limited use license to Michael
Gasper for Half-Fast, SaddleSore and Bun Burner
1996 48/10™ - 48 States in 10 days ™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1995 Iron Butt Rally Logo™™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1997 Iron Butt Rally Logo™™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1997 Entered into licensing agreement with Gary
Moore to produce shirts based on 1994 license agreement.
1997 Licensed the use of "Butt" in TarButt rally on a limited use basis
1997 Licensed the use of "Butt" TimberButt rally
1997 Licensed the use of "Butt" in "Butt Lite Rally™
1998 "CCC GOLD"" "100ccc Insanity"™™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats
1998 The Longest Month™
1998 Bun Burner 3000 GOLD™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
1998 48 Plus!™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
1999 Border to Border to Border Insanity GOLD™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
1999 Border to Border Insanity™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 20/20 Insanity - 20 days - 20,000 Miles™
2001 Around the World Club GOLD™
2001 Around the World Club™
2001 Alabama SaddleSore 1000™ (AL-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Alaska SaddleSore 1000™ (AK-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Arizona SaddleSore 1000™ (AZ-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Arkansas SaddleSore 1000™ (AZ-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 California SaddleSore 1000™ (CA-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Colorado SaddleSore 1000™ (CO-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Connecticut SaddleSore 1000™ (CT-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Delaware SaddleSore 1000™ (DE-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Florida SaddleSore 1000™ (FL-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Georgia SaddleSore 1000™ (GA-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Hawaii SaddleSore 1000™ (HI-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Idaho SaddleSore 1000™ (ID-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Illinois SaddleSore 1000™ (IL-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Indiana SaddleSore 1000™ (IN-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Iowa SaddleSore 1000™ (IA-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Kansas SaddleSore 1000™ (KS-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Kentucky SaddleSore 1000™ (KY-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Louisiana SaddleSore 1000™ (LA-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Maine SaddleSore 1000™ (ME-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Maryland SaddleSore 1000™ (MD-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Massachusetts SaddleSore 1000™ (MA-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Michigan SaddleSore 1000™ (MI-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Minnesota SaddleSore 1000™ (MN-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Mississippi SaddleSore 1000™ (MS-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Missouri SaddleSore 1000™ (MO-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Montana SaddleSore 1000™ (MT-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Nebraska SaddleSore 1000™ (NE-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Nevada SaddleSore 1000™ (NV-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 New Hampshire SaddleSore 1000™ (NH-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 New Jersey SaddleSore 1000™ (NJ-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 New Mexico SaddleSore 1000™ (NM-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 New York SaddleSore 1000™ (NY-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 North Carolina SaddleSore 1000™ (NC-1000(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats))
2001 North Dakota SaddleSore 1000™ (ND-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Ohio SaddleSore 1000™ (OH-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Oklahoma SaddleSore 1000™ (OK-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Oregon SaddleSore 1000™ (OR-1000(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats))
2001 Pennsylvania SaddleSore 1000™ (PA-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Rhode Island SaddleSore 1000™ (RI-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 South Carolina SaddleSore 1000™ (SC-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 South Dakota SaddleSore 1000™ (SD-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Tennessee SaddleSore 1000™ (TN-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Texas SaddleSore 1000™ (TX-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Utah SaddleSore 1000™ (UT-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Vermont SaddleSore 1000™ (VT-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Virginia SaddleSore 1000™ (VA-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Washington SaddleSore 1000™ (WA-1000(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats))
2001 Washington, DC SaddleSore 1000™ (DC-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 West Virginia SaddleSore 1000™ (WV-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Wisconsin SaddleSore 1000™ (WI-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Wyoming SaddleSore 1000™ (WY-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Chicago 1000™ (CHICAGO-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Denver 1000™ (DENVER-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 New York City 1000™ (NYC-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Las Vegas 1000™ (VEGAS-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Los Angeles 1000™ (LAC-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Seattle 1000™ (SEATTLE-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 San Francisco 1000™ (SFC-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Toronto 1000/1600K™ (TORONTO-1000/1600K(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats))
2001 Victoria Island 1000/1600K™ (VICTORIA-1000)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Alberta SaddleSore 1000/1600K™ (AB-1000/1600K)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 British Columbia SaddleSore 1000/1600K™ (BC-1000/1600K)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Manitoba SaddleSore 1000/1600K™ (MB-1000/1600K)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 New Brunswick SaddleSore 1000/1600K™ (NB-1000/1600K)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Newfoundland SaddleSore 1000/1600K™ (NF-1000/1600K)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Nova Scotia SaddleSore 1000/1600K™ (NS-1000/1600K)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Ontario SaddleSore 1000/1600K™ (ON-1000/1600K)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Quebec SaddleSore 1000/1600K™ (QC-1000/1600K)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Saskatchewan SaddleSore 1000/1600K™ (SK-1000/1600K)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2001 Yukon SaddleSore 1000/1600K™ (YT-1000/1600K)(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2002 Euro-Asia Coast to Coast GOLD™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2002 Euro-Asia Coast to Coast™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2002 48 States - 3 Countries!™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2002 Ultimate Americas Challenge™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2002 Trans Siberia Express GOLD™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2002 Ultimate North America Challenge™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2002 Far North Insanity™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2002 Bay to Bay GOLD™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2002 Australian CCC GOLD™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2002 Gibraltar to Nordkapp GOLD™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2003 Bun Burner 2500K GOLD™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2003 Frozen Butt(™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2003 Bun Burner GOLD Trifecta™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2005 Mississippi Gold™(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2014 Not Right Riders(™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2015 EggSanity 1000 (™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats)
2019 Senior Butt Rally (™ for patches, pins, clothing, hats, SM for the Senior Butt Rally)
Copyrights: All material on this site is � Iron
Butt Association, Chicago, IL 60634 1984 through 2019
Privacy, Collection of Personal Data Policy
Providing personal information is up to you, our
visitor. The Iron Butt Association
web site does not use ™Cookies™ (a common
background method used on the Internet
to collect information from site-visitors without
their knowledge or permission).
Only at your option, using a subscribe request
via e-mail (a manual operation the
user must take) will we record any information on
site visitors. However, our provider (ISP)
does collect the following non-personal
information: web browser used, country of origin
(this is actually taken from the users' ISP
domain address where the TCP/IP packet is returned
to), time of day of visit and a ™hit counter™
that records pages visited (but not what user
visited which page - for example, our ISP can
tell us that ironbutt.html received 1451 hits
from AOL [America On Line] users. 80% of that
usage was between 10 am and noon, 10% between
9pm and midnight, etc). We also track the total
number of visitors to our site in an
aggregate form to allow us to update and improve
our site and help us determine service
levels needed for our site traffic. This data is typical of the data
ISPs collect of visitors to their computer system
for traffic analysis. No individual user
data is collected.
We do ask visitors providing e-mail addresses to
let us know if they would like further
information or updates from our site; only those
who request it will receive follow-up
e-mail or other communications from us or from other
sites which we control. We also offer visitors an
™cancel™ option at any time they wish
to cease receiving e-mails or other information
from us. We never sell information you
voluntarily provide us. It is used solely by us
for the purpose of communicating directly
with you.
For more information on the Iron Butt Association e-mail
[email protected] or send
snail mail to: Iron Butt Association, 1309 Coffeen Avenue STE 10276,
Sheridan, Wyoming 82801 U.S.A.
Please respect our intellectual property rights. Do not distribute
any of these documents, or portions therein, without the written
permission of the Iron Butt Association.
