Can I seek trade name or copyright protection for my social motorcycle club

The below does not constitute legal advice, does not form an attorney-client relationship, and should not be relied upon to take or refrain from taking any action. The answer is possibly. You may be able to obtain a federal trademark registration on your name, which could potentially give you at least the theoretical ability to stop other potential groups from using names confusingly similar to your group's name. One example of such a registration is for DYKES ON BIKES (link below), which is registered for the following services: "Education and Entertainment Services in the nature of organizing, conducting, and promoting parade contingents, community festivals, events, street fairs, forums, seminars, parties and rallies to support, organize and motivate women motorcyclists everywhere to do the same, thereby fostering pride in a wide variety of sexual orientations and identities, namely lesbian, bisexual and transgender." Other social groups have obtained registrations on their names, such as THE SYNDICATE, an online gaming guild (link below). So, trademark registration may be possible, depending on your use of the name. As to copyright protection, this is unlikely. Copyright protection is generally not available for short phrases (see Copyright Office circular 34 linked below).

I agree with the advice you have already received and only add that if you think another club might "steal" your name then you should move quickly to protect it. Good luck.

Notice: The below is for educational and informational purposes only, is not a reflection on or a representation of any views or opinions held by my employer, and should not be construed as legal advice. Nothing herein is meant to create an attorney-client relationship. Assuming you are using the trademark for your social motorcycle club in commerce, you should be able to file a use-based federal trademark application. I note that "Social club services, namely, arranging, organizing, and hosting social events, get-togethers, and parties for club members" in International Class 41 is an acceptable description of services as set forth in the Trademark Acceptable Identification of Goods & Services Manual (see below link). With respect to copyright, as stated by the original poster above, U.S. copyright law does not generally protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. However, in certain cases copyright protection may be available for an artistic logo.