LDS Church speaks on legal action against ‘Mormon Stories’ podcast
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Amelia Hobson, ABC4
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has filed in opposition of a motion to dismiss their trademark infringement lawsuit against the ‘Mormon Stories’ Podcast. Additionally, they spoke publicly about the lawsuit for the first time since it was filed.
Earlier this year, the Church filed a lawsuit against the Open Stories Foundation and John P. Dehlin, the respective parent company and founder of the podcast ‘Mormon Stories’.
Mormon Stories is a podcast that focuses on the lived experiences of current and former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to their website.
Doug Anderson, a spokesperson with the Church, said they have “always acknowledged Mr. Dehlin’s right to the First Amendment” and said they are dealing not with the naming of his podcast, but the design. He added, “It’s about preventing confusion.”
RELATED | LDS Church sues ‘Mormon Stories’ podcast, alleges trademark infringement
The news conference on Thursday, which lasted about two minutes, was reportedly held to clear up any confusion.
They also provided parts of the legal filing they submitted today, asking the Court to deny Dehlin’s motion to dismiss. In that filing, they stated, “Mr. Dehlin can criticize the Church as he chooses, and he can use ‘Mormon’ in connection with his podcast.”
It adds, “Federal law prohibits Defendants from pilfering the Church’s copyright images or using its trademarks in ways that are likely to cause people to believe that Defendants or their content are associated with the Church.”
The Church claims that the podcast uses branding that will cause some people to believe ‘Mormon Stories’ is associated with or endorsed by the Church, including their previously blue logo.
Notably, the Church announced that it was moving away from the name ‘Mormon’ in 2018 and asked to be referred by its official name as “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”
RELATED | LDS Church discourages use of ‘Mormons’ in new name guidelines
However, the initial lawsuit largely alleges the podcast has used specific Design Marks and other features that the Church has trademark registrations for, which would be prohibited.
In Mormon Stories’ response to the initial lawsuit, they argued that the Church had misrepresented the usage of ‘Mormon’ when trademarking it and had already abandoned the trademark. They also argued that the word ‘Mormon’ cannot be controlled, due to its use by millions of people not associated with the Church.
On August 10, the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation filed briefs in support of the ‘Mormon Stories’ podcast and asking for the dismissal of the lawsuit. They also argued that the word ‘Mormon’ is used by other religious sects, and in tv shows not associated with the Church.
In the new filing, the Church argued that, while Mormon Stories implemented a disclaimer stating they weren’t associated with the Church after previous discussions, it is hidden on their various pages.
They argue that “one would have to be actively searching for this disclaimer to find it.”
Additionally, the Church spoke against the idea that the case could be dismissed under the Laches defense, which argues that there has been an inexcusable delay in pursuing a claim.
While Dehlin began using the ‘Mormon Stories’ name in 2005 and the laches defense could apply there, the Church argues the lawsuit is about contested design marks, not the title. Additionally, laches requires ‘inexcusable’ delay, and the Church says that does not qualify.
In response to the new filing, Dehlin stated, “Our legal team and I just received the response a few minutes ago and are digesting it. If we have any public statements we will make them at an appropriate time on mormonstories.org.”