The Church is suing an author because the title of their book includes the word “Mormon”
Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:24 am
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/is-th ... r-AA170Rl1In the Season Three finale of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” cast member Heather Gay says that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is suing her over her autobiography, “Bad Mormon.”
That’s not exactly true. The church is not trying to prevent the book from reaching bookstores as scheduled on Feb. 7. It’s not suing over anything between the covers. It’s suing over what’s on the cover: The title.
And it isn’t really about the title; it’s about Gay’s attempt to trademark it.
Why is the Church seeking to protect and own a word that it’s current President has outlawed?
Although church President Russell M. Nelson has counseled against the use of the word “Mormon” to describe Latter-day Saints — calling that “a major victory for Satan” — the church’s foundational scripture remains the Book of Mormon. And the church retains its trademarks on multiple variations of the term “Mormon.”
The church declined to comment on the ongoing dispute, but, according to Mandour & Associates Intellectual Property Law, the church’s lawyers filed an opposition to Gay’s proposed Bad Mormon trademark, arguing it “would create a likelihood of confusion, trademark dilution, falsely suggest a connection to the church, and be otherwise deceptive.”