Jesus Trademark Drama

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Inspired by his time leading a singles ministry in Virginia Beach, Va., Michael Julius Anton came up with an idea for a clothing line that he thought was catchy and unique—”Jesus Surfed.”

He was on good ground with “Surfed.” But when he went to register the trademark, he found someone had beaten him to Jesus.

In a branding coup of biblical proportions, an Italian jeans maker persuaded the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2007 to register the word “Jesus” as a trademark, giving the company exclusive rights in America to sell clothing bearing the name of Christianity’s central figure.

Since then, the owner of the trademark, Jesus Jeans, has clamped down on Jesus-themed apparel, pitting its litigators against more than a dozen other startup clothing lines it claims appropriated “Jesus” without the company’s blessing. The company doesn’t have a trademark on images of Jesus, just the word.

Before taking on Jesus Surfed, Jesus Jeans objected to “Jesus First,” “Sweet Jesus,” and “Jesus Couture,” among others, which abandoned their trademark efforts. In some cases, when met with resistance, Jesus Jeans warned that it could sue for damages.

WSJ Article

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