Ars Technica points to the story, a somewhat unusual intellectual property fight. The site founder is perfectly within his rights to try starting a business to help religious singles meet heavenly mates. He wants to call it Mormon Match, which seems pretty straightforward, and he tried to trademark the site’s name. But the church filed a motion to block his claim.
“Mormon,” as it turns out, is a trademarked term. Intellectual Reserve Inc., the holding company that is the church’s parent organization, holds trademarks on the word “Mormon” as well as on the relevant organizations and publications that use the name, like The Book of Mormon and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It’s not a generic descriptor like “Christian” would be, according to the IRI.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is now coming to the man’s rescue, legally speaking. In an amicus filing, they called on the court to “help deter future trademark ‘bullies’” and find in favor of the site owner. The comparison they drew was from the world of fast food, saying that the IRI can’t block him “from using the word “Mormon” to describe his Mormon matching service as ‘Mormon Match,’ any more than Burger King® could prevent In-n-Out Burger® from including the term ‘burger’ in its name.”
Latter-Day Saints Church Says Dating Site Can’t Match Mormons Because “Mormon” Is Their Trademark – Consumerist
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