A Classic Trademark Dispute
Harley-Davidson Versus The Hog Farm
Stan MA0N0203
Lyndon MA0N0226
Introduction
 Grottanelli, The Hog Farm, New York, in
1969
Servicing all makes and models of motorcycle
Custom bike
 Fancy paint, long front ends, lots of Chrome, called
Hog
 Motorcycle repairs
Harley-Davidson
 William Sylvester Harley and Arthur
Davidson, MILWAUKEE, WI , in 1903
Chopper --- a type of customized motorcycle
NYSE symbol : Hog (old symbol: H-D)
 NYSE --- New York Stock Exchange
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson Versus The Hog Farm
 The Hog Farm
Hosting Hog Holiday, Hog Labor Day Holiday
Attaching “Hog” to many product
 Engine degreaser --- called Hog Wash
Helping keep Harley’s customer flame alive
 Late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Harley-Davidson might
go under
 Harley-Davidson
Recovered as market growing in USA
Starting to control the word --- Hog
Registering it as a trademark in 1987
Harley-Davidson
 A hog was a Harley. No one else was
entitled to use that name when referring to a
motorcycle.
 Asking The Hog Farm changing name,
quitting using “hog” when referring to
motorcycle or related product
The court’s decision
 court decision
 Harley-Davidson couldn't appropriate a term that
was already in the public domain and turn it into its
own private property
 court finding
 several periodicals and books using "Hog" to refer to motorcycle
 a 1935 issue of Popular Mechanics using "Hog Heaven" in
caption of a picture of some large motorcycles
 in 1965, Newweek article using "Hog" to refer to big motorcycle
 American and slang dictionaries definintion --- Hog as a form of
large motorcycle
 Throughout 1970s and 1980s, many motorcycle enthusiasts
using Hog refering Harley-Davidson motorcycles
Discussion Questions
1. Do you agree or disagree with court’s
decision? Why or why not?
Answer:
We agreed with the court's decision.
Descriptive marks are exclusion from
trademark protection. For example, golf
ball .
Discussion Questions
 2. Two what extend do you believe that The
Hog Farm would have been harmed if it had
lost the decision? If you were Ron
Grottanelli and the decision had gone
against you, how would have you rebranded
your company?
Answer:
A1. If they lost the decision, all of the products
related motorcycle have to be changed their
names, without Hog. The existing and stock
products have to be off-shelf and change
into a new packing.
Discussion Questions
A2: Rebrand
1. Revising your company mission statement
to reflect your company's new image
2. Changing the company's name
3. Creating a marketing plan
4. Updating your company logo
Discussion Questions
 3. What can other companies as well as
entrepreneurs who are interested in
trademark law learn from the case of HarleyDavidson versus The Hog Farm?
Answer: A generic name can not be protected
by law or a company cannot appropriate a
term that was already in the public domain
and turn into its own private property .
Discussion Questions
 4. For a company like Harley-Davidson, how
important a factor is its intellectual property
in enableing it to maintain a sustainable
competitive advantage? How about The Hog
Farm?
Answer:
The intellectual property is human imagination,
creativity and inventiveness, which is the
valueable asset, like Google, Nike(swoosh).
Discussion Questions
Answer:
Harley-Davidson: Hog is a symbol of this
company. When we talking large motorcycles,
Hog or Harley will be mentioned.
The Hog Farm: the company name and their
product are related to each other. More
activities hosted by this company to maintain
people's enthusiasm.
Application Questions
 1. List several examples of names that are
currently controlled by companies that you think
are becoming “generic” enough that their
trademark protection may be in jeopardy
 Answer:
Xerox ---- for copy machine company
Ping --- for golf manufacturing/product
Red Soled Shoes --- ladies shoes
Application Questions
What can a company do to prevent this from
happening?
Answer:
The company can have the name
registered, so that no other company can
use it.
Application Questions
 2. The "You Be the VC 12.1 feature in this
chapter focus on Cyber-Rain, the company
that is starting a business with the purpose
of helping homeowners in their efforts to
more efficiently water their lawn. Write a
short intellectual property protection plan for
this company. Include in the plan all facets
of Cyber-Rain and its operations that should
be protected, and the form of intellectual
property protection that should be used in
each instance?
intellectual property protection plan
Answer:
 Conducting an intellectual property audit
including
patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets
 sourcing the related areas for shops and
companies refering to your intellectual property
 Physical measurement and written agreement
for trade secrets