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Mormon dating site sued by Mormon church

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  • Mormon dating site sued by Mormon church

    Source: http://living.msn.com/love-relationships/mormon-dating-site-sued-by-mormon-church


    A dating site that tries to connect Mormon singles with one another has encountered legal resistance from a surprising source: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

    The business arm of the Mormon church has filed a lawsuit to prevent the dating site from using the name Mormon Match. The church is attempting to assert its trademark over the name, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation has recently jumped in to defend the website's founder, insisting that the church is being inordinately aggressive in its intellectual property claims.

    The case began last month when Intellectual Reserve Inc., the LDS church's holding company, filed suit in the federal district court of Southern Texas against Mormon Match's founder Jonathan Eller. Utah-based Intellectual Reserve claims trademarks on several terms related to the church, including "Mormon," "Book of Mormon," "Mormon.org," "Mormon Tabernacle Choir," and "The Mormon Church" among others.

    © Copyright Original Source



    Idiots.
    That's what
    - She

    Without a clear-cut definition of sin, morality becomes a mere argument over the best way to train animals
    - Manya the Holy Szin (The Quintara Marathon)

    I may not be as old as dirt, but me and dirt are starting to have an awful lot in common
    - Stephen R. Donaldson

  • #2
    If your religion is true, do you really need to hide behind copyright?
    "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

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    • #3
      Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
      If your religion is true, do you really need to hide behind copyright?

      Um, yes - otherwise you can have 'Roman Catholic Committee for Abortion on Demand' which looks like the RCC but isn't. There is legitimate reason to protect some trademarks and copyrights (they aren't the same thing).

      That said, this doesn't appear to be much of a case. The RCC could legitimately defend 'Roman Catholic' but it couldn't defend 'Catholic' - the term is commonly used. 'Mormon' is such common parlance that I doubt it can be defended like that - and since it's not the actual name of the church, very difficult to show harm to the brand.

      "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

      "Forgiveness is the way of love." Gary Chapman

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Teallaura View Post
        Um, yes - otherwise you can have 'Roman Catholic Committee for Abortion on Demand' which looks like the RCC but isn't. There is legitimate reason to protect some trademarks and copyrights (they aren't the same thing).

        That said, this doesn't appear to be much of a case. The RCC could legitimately defend 'Roman Catholic' but it couldn't defend 'Catholic' - the term is commonly used. 'Mormon' is such common parlance that I doubt it can be defended like that - and since it's not the actual name of the church, very difficult to show harm to the brand.
        That was well said, IMO. But I wonder if there might be some potential for harm to a church's reputation if two people use such a site to hook up and it doesn't end well--say, for example, one person assaults the other? In the inevitable resulting lawsuit, could the plaintiff's lawyer cause trouble for the church?
        "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven...." Joseph Smith

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        • #5
          Originally posted by NRA-Jeff View Post
          That was well said, IMO. But I wonder if there might be some potential for harm to a church's reputation if two people use such a site to hook up and it doesn't end well--say, for example, one person assaults the other? In the inevitable resulting lawsuit, could the plaintiff's lawyer cause trouble for the church?
          Thanks.

          No, since the church has no legal or financial ties to the site they aren't libel for any actions of the site. The risk would be to the brand (having a lot of publicity in which people might confuse the two), but no legal or fiscal risk to the church from any direct action.
          "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

          "Forgiveness is the way of love." Gary Chapman

          My Personal Blog

          My Novella blog (Current Novella Begins on 7/25/14)

          Quill Sword

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Teallaura View Post
            Thanks.

            No, since the church has no legal or financial ties to the site they aren't libel for any actions of the site. The risk would be to the brand (having a lot of publicity in which people might confuse the two), but no legal or fiscal risk to the church from any direct action.
            Valid point. I do recall, however, the McDonald's lawsuit, where an Illinois family who just happened to be named McDonald had been running a diner, and the megafranchise sued them, trying to force them to stop calling their restaurant "McDonald's Family Restaurant" --presumably on the grounds that people could confuse the two, and somehow hurt business for the megafranchise.
            "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven...." Joseph Smith

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            • #7
              Originally posted by NRA-Jeff View Post
              Valid point. I do recall, however, the McDonald's lawsuit, where an Illinois family who just happened to be named McDonald had been running a diner, and the megafranchise sued them, trying to force them to stop calling their restaurant "McDonald's Family Restaurant" --presumably on the grounds that people could confuse the two, and somehow hurt business for the megafranchise.
              Because of the fiscal impact. Somehow I can't picture the LDS being impacted in anyway by an entity they have nothing to do with to begin with.
              Watch your links! http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/fa...corumetiquette

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              • #8
                Originally posted by DesertBerean View Post
                Because of the fiscal impact.
                Ultimately, they were concerned about making money, yes, but the short-term concern was probably something like "We don't want any negative stuff THEY do, being accidentally associated with US."

                Somehow I can't picture the LDS being impacted in anyway by an entity they have nothing to do with to begin with.
                I hope you are right.
                Last edited by NRA-Jeff; 06-18-2014, 02:35 PM.
                "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven...." Joseph Smith

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by NRA-Jeff View Post
                  Valid point. I do recall, however, the McDonald's lawsuit, where an Illinois family who just happened to be named McDonald had been running a diner, and the megafranchise sued them, trying to force them to stop calling their restaurant "McDonald's Family Restaurant" --presumably on the grounds that people could confuse the two, and somehow hurt business for the megafranchise.
                  That's what
                  - She

                  Without a clear-cut definition of sin, morality becomes a mere argument over the best way to train animals
                  - Manya the Holy Szin (The Quintara Marathon)

                  I may not be as old as dirt, but me and dirt are starting to have an awful lot in common
                  - Stephen R. Donaldson

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Yep that was the first thing that came to my mind!
                    Watch your links! http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/fa...corumetiquette

                    Comment

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