Harley Davidson to Pay “Sportster” Trademark Owner 40% of Sales

I know it’s Friday and I’m supposed to be joking and laughing and posting up funny stuff, but I missed this yesterday…

A Mexican businessman owns the “Sportster” trademark in Mexico and won a 4 year fight against Harley-Davidson which grants him a 40% share of every Harley Davidson Sportster sold in Mexico since 1989.

Ouch!!

Alberto Lenz is the rightful owner of the “Sportster” trademark in Mexico. Harley’s liability could be around $3 million in royalties for every 1,000 Sportsters sold.

But here’s the kicker…

Interestingly enough, Lenz had once offered the Sportster trademark for sale to the MoCo for a sum of $100K. But Harley refused, opting to instead to ignore the trademark dispute and let Lenz try his luck in the Mexican courts.

Still working on verifying this via US reports. Stay tuned!