SAN FRANCISCO—The name “Dykes on Bikes” is inoffensive and a legitimate trademark, a federal appeals court ruled last week.

The Dykes on Bikes motorcycle club, which leads San Francisco’s annual gay pride parade, had spent years sparring with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in hopes of protecting the phrase, finally winning a trademark in 2005. The office has twice rejected the group’s application, saying that “dyke” is a vulgar term.

Michael McDermott, a lawyer from Dublin, Calif., sued after the USPTO granted approval, calling the name “disparaging to men” and “scandalous and immoral.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C. tossed out McDermott’s suit July 11, ruling he had no legal basis to claim offense.