Indian Motorcyle Lawsuit: Win for Indian
What Indian Motorcycle (IMI) Accused
the Defendants Of
- The players:
- Plaintiff: Indian Motorcycle International
(IMI), the company that owns the “Indian Motorcycle” brand and
trademarks.
- Defendants: Arturo Eguia (a former Indian
Motorcycle dealer) and his company, Indian Bike Week LLC (IBW).
- The accusations:
- After Eguia’s dealership ended
in 2018, he had no right to use Indian Motorcycle’s logos or name.
- Despite that, he kept hosting
“Indian Bike Week” rallies and selling merchandise using Indian
Motorcycle’s branding.
- IMI sent him multiple warnings
and even signed a 2020 settlement agreement where he promised to stop.
But he didn’t.
- IMI claimed:
- Breach of contract (breaking the settlement
agreement).
- Trademark infringement and
unfair competition (using their logos and names without permission).
- Trademark dilution (weakening the value of IMI’s
brand).
- Violations of Minnesota
consumer protection laws.
Why the Court Ruled Against the
Defendants
- Eguia and IBW started the case
with a lawyer but later lost representation.
- IBW never hired a new lawyer
(required by law for companies).
- Neither defendant answered IMI’s
updated complaint, participated in discovery, or followed court orders.
- Because they essentially stopped
defending themselves, the court entered a default judgment
(automatic win for IMI).
The Court’s Ruling (Outcome)
The judge ordered:
- Permanent injunction:
- Defendants can never again use
“Indian Motorcycle,” “Indian Bike Week,” or anything confusingly similar
in events, websites, social media, advertising, or merchandise.
- They must stop any activity that
might make people think their events or products are connected to IMI.
- Destruction of materials:
- Within 30 days, they must
destroy all merchandise, ads, and promotional items using the trademarks
or the “Indian Bike Week” name.
- Within 45 days, they must submit
a sworn statement to the court proving compliance.
- Money judgment:
- IMI is awarded $120,000 for
profits the defendants made from infringing use of the trademarks (based
mainly on rally registration fees).
- Both Eguia and IBW are jointly
and severally liable (meaning IMI can collect the full amount from
either or both).
👉 In short: IMI sued because a
former dealer kept running rallies and selling merch using their “Indian
Motorcycle” name and logos long after he lost the right to do so. The court
sided with IMI, banned the defendants from ever using the brand again, ordered
them to destroy all infringing materials, and hit them with a $120,000
judgment.
The Above is a summary of the court case; No opinions, just facts.
Defendants. Case No. 24-cv-1958 (LMP/SGE)
Indian Motorcycle International, LLC v. Eguia | 24-1958 | D. Minn. | Judgment | Law | CaseMine
Comments
The blog post shared on 9 September paints a very selective and misleading picture of the ongoing legal matter between Indian Motorcycle International (IMI) and Indian Bike Week (IBW).
Here are the facts:
This is not a final win. The recent judgment was a default judgment, entered only because IBW lost legal representation and could not respond within court timelines. It was not a ruling based on full evidence. Art and IBW still have six months to appeal.
IMI does not own the term “Indian Bike Week.” In fact, IMI signed a 2022 agreement with IBW that explicitly acknowledged the event’s name and granted permission for the use of certain logos. That directly contradicts the claim that the event name was always infringing.
The disputed artwork is not IMI’s property. The logo in question — a Native American family member with an American flag — was created and signed by an independent artist.
A Native American image cannot be copyrighted.
The American flag cannot be copyrighted.
The artwork was not commissioned by IBW but offered as part of several artistic samples to celebrate Indian Motorcycles across all eras.
This is about community, not profiteering. IBW was built as a celebration of Indian riders worldwide, not as a money-making scheme. To present it as some kind of theft or exploitation is dishonest and ignores years of goodwill, support, and transparent effort by its organisers.
And now, a message directly to the author of that blog:
I bet this response will not be published — but your comment and blog have been copied along with this reply and will be used in every avenue possible to expose your very sad obsession with discrediting an event that people genuinely love attending.
You keep dragging things back to 2017 with unproven accusations that never resulted in any legal action because they were unfounded. That is not fact, it is slander recycled year after year.
You are a very sad man indeed, and you should seek help.
It is also very telling that your blog posts never seem to get any comments — or perhaps you hide them. Either way, it doesn’t exactly scream transparency.
Indian Bike Week is about riders, community, and passion for the brand. Your attempts to undermine that won’t change the fact that people love the event and continue to support it.
Within 45 days, they must submit a sworn statement to the court proving compliance"