The fight to trademark “Moechella” — the name of D.C.’s popular go-go music protest on 14th and U Streets NW — has come to a halt.

The name “Moechella,” a play on local slang for another person, “moe,” and the California music festival Coachella, has drawn backlash from the latter’s lawyers, who say the name infringes on their trademark rights. Coachella’s lawyers attempted to block a trademark application that Moechella’s organizer, Justin “Yaddiya” Johnson filed in April 2021 to keep the name. (Coachella did not respond to a request for comment). Johnson, who is also the founder of the cultural and political advocacy organization Long Live GoGo, withdrew the application on July 29. The Trademark Trial and Appeals Board terminated the case on Aug. 2.

Johnson, however, told DCist/WAMU that his loss in the trademark dispute ultimately bears little weight on the true goals of Moechella, saying it is “a protest under the First Amendment,” not something to monetize.

“I don’t think that me owning that name has anything to do with me utilizing it as a free symbol of protest,” he said. “I don’t see how those things are conflicting.”

Moechella began in 2019 after speakers playing go-go music outside the Metro PCS store in Shaw were turned off following noise complaints from residents in a new luxury apartment. The event is beloved by many in the District as both a homegrown celebration of Black culture and as a peaceful protest against gentrification and systemic racism.

Johnson said that Coachella’s efforts to get rid of the name were an “attack” on Black D.C. culture, even if it may have been an inadvertent one. He called Moechella a “beacon of hope,” adding that it has played a role in “reversing the stigma of violence that was attached to go-go music for a long time,” while also creating space for voices in underserved communities.

“Go-go music, being a symbol of the culture, has been our tool to mobilize people,” he said. “So much so that people misconstrue what we do to be a festival.”

Despite being a peaceful event, Moechella drew unwanted national attention this year. During Juneteenth weekend, a shooting broke out afterward and a 15-year old boy, Chase Poole, was killed. D.C. Police Chief Contee said he’d consider holding Moechella’s organizers responsible because the event was “unpermitted,” despite the fact that officers were present for crowd control. Local musicians criticized the police and Mayor Muriel Bowser for blaming Moechella for the violence and for what they said was criminalizing Black music.

It’s clear that the movement behind Moechella is not over. Long Live GoGo is holding a show called “Moe World Order” on Aug. 26 at the Howard Theatre. Johnson said Moe World Order is “a paradoxical term, to symbolize unification between the people and the culture of the city.”

“That’s what we’re looking to promote, moe unity,” Johnson said. “That’s something that’s really needed right now, more than ever.” That greater unity, he said, would help alleviate violence and create safer communities in the city.