BACKGROUND

INFORMATION ABOUT

THE VRCC LOGO

Foundation of the VRCC

• The VRCC was founded August 1st 1999 by

Lamont Bryden and Gale Scalzi.

• Lamont aka "Lamonster" is no longer with the

Club but still is Member #1.

• Gale Scalzi aka "oZ" is Member #2 and is

President of the VRCC.

Foundation of the VRCC

• Gale Scalzi is the Designer of all VRCC logos

and they are his intellectual property.

• It all began with this Symbol

"The Viking Head in the Wings"

The Logos of the VRCC

The Original Logo

"Viking Head in the Wings"

These Symbols with the text

1520 Valkyrie Motorcycle

were created by Gale Scalzi

for clothing and accessories

sold in the f6rider store

FOUNDATION OF THE VRCC August 1st, 1999

Lamont Bryden Gale Scalzi

The VRCC's first steps

on the Internet

• The first website was an interactive page

• This is a snapshot from November 11th, 1999

• At first only the first logo was shown on the

website

THE FIRST WEBSITE November 23rd, 1999

The VRCC Website

• There were many links to the store on the

VRCC USA website

• In this way people could purchase accessories

with the original logo of the VRCC

• ....for example T-Shirts

• With the original logo "Viking Head in the

Wings"

The VRCC Website

• There were many links to the store on the

VRCC USA website.

• In this way people could purchase accessories

with the original logo of the VRCC

• .....For example, Membership Cards

• With the original logo of the "Viking Head in

the Wings"

Accessories with the

Original Logos

• Top Left = Martin John's Membership Card

• Top Right = A T-Shirt from Martin John

• Bottom Left = American T-Shirt from 1999

• Bottom Right = T-Shirt from VRCC Austria 2010

Symbols from the VRCC

• In 2000 the original logo was embedded in the shield

framework and customized lettering

• This is our official VRCC logo

23.11.1999 26.02.2000

• Even though the official logo has been

modified, accessories with the original logo are

still produced and sold.

• Example: 6/18/2000 "VRCC Cap"

The internationally-

recognized retired

official logo of the

VRCC

• Even today, dealers offer accessories with the

original VRCC logo.

• Current examples: Back Patch, Belt Buckle,

Radiator Grill

The Abuse of the VRCC Logo

In 2005, Michi Böhm from Uelzen was ousted from the

VRCC. Until that point, he was a full member in MC

Brenner(the Brenner Club). While a VRCC member, he

knew the VRCC emblem.

As a full member of a well-known motorcycle club, Michi

Böhm was aware of the importance and treatment of the

Club emblem among the motorcycle-scene.

The following pictures and forum posts are from 2008.

MICHI ANSWERS A QUESTION FROM SKIPPER

IN THE MAIN FORUM OF THE GERMAN VRCC.

December 22nd, 2008

On December 18th, 2010, the logo (above left) appeared during the Christmas celebration aboard the ferry boat

Langel.

The decal was the company logo of Valkparts, the new business owned by Michi Böhm.

An evil scoundrel!

VRCC representatives warned Michi Böhm of his

transgression and demanded he alter his

company logo.

He was also asked to remove himself from the

forum.

Thereupon Michi Böhm left the forum.

• Today we know that he continues to copyright

the original emblem of the VRCC — "Viking

Head in the Wings" — as his company logo

(see the picture on the left of the next slide).

• Now compare on the next slide the copyrighted

logo, top right, versus the original logo on a

VRCC Membership Card on the bottom right.

Valkparts has also

taken legal action

against the

distributors of

accessories with the

original VRCC

emblem.

• Thereupon, the members of VRCC Germany

decided that the official VRCC logo must be

protected.

• Since the VRCC Germany at that time does

not have legal representation, VRCC member

"Ochsy" filed for copyright protection.

Ochsy

VRCC Member

#11602

• In the meantime, the VRCC organization has

established copyright protection and the

protected logo has been transferred from

Ochsy to VRCC Germany.

• The VRCC has filed an objection against

Valkparts for the reason that its logo is too

similar in appearance. (Compare the logo of the

VRCC on the top right of the next slide versus

the logo of Valkparts on the bottom right.)

• Strangely, Michi Böhm was not troubled by the

resemblance at the time. (Compare the logo of

Valkparts on the top right of the next slide

versus the original logo of the VRCC on the

bottom right.)

Valkparts versus VRCC

• Valkparts has filed an objection with the Patent

and Trademark Office that VRCC Germany

retains the rights to the logo.

• If Valkparts obtains the rights, it could prohibit any

VRCC meeting from selling VRCC accessories.

• If Valkparts succeeds, it would manage to take the

retired VRCC logo, in a legal sense, as

advertising in Germany for Valkparts.

Two Paths to Success

• The legal route is for VRCC Germany — VRCC

Rathaus e.V. — to proceed with a lawsuit

against Valkparts.

• The moral way is the manner how each

individual VRCC member, and their like-minded

friends, act toward Michi Böhm and his

company.

To maintain what

has brought us

together and to

the friendships

and good times

we have made

and those we will

have in the future.

THANKS

THANKS

THANKS