This story at the Seattle Trademark Lawyer points out something that I see all the time: christian organizations ripping off logos and look and feel to push their agenda by trying to look hip (today I got a flier ripping off Facebook.com’s look and feel for a college christian ministry). The above story is about Starbucks logo ripoffs, such as the following:
The difference here is whether or not they would be considered parody. The Consumer Whore logo is clearly poking fun at Starbucks, the Jesus logo is not. Therefore, you the Jesus use is not a parody and may suggest an approval of the use by Starbucks, which would be infringement.
You can get the Jesus/Starbucks logo at www.christiantshirts.com and www.JesusHats.com which is owned by Arkansas based Kerusso, the nation’s largest Christian clothing company.
A quick spin around their web site found other infringements:
Abercrombie and Fitche
Pepsi-Cola
Cops TV show
Geico Insurance
The Red Cross
Orange Crush Soda, a Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages brand.
Staples
Lost TV Show
Mountain Dew, a PepsiCo brand
Reece’s, a Hershey Brand
Sprite, a Coca-Cola brand
I could go on and on. Of course, suing a company in Arkansas for making Jesus shirts could be a PR problem. Just make sure everyone knows that you are suing an apparel maker, not Jesus, and you will be OK.
Filed under: Trademark
Tekel
Give it a rest. I’m an atheist and find your anti-religious comments overblown and hateful. Disease of the mind… lol.
The point is that the manufacturer is ripping off companies and then hiding behind religion in order to make a buck. Sue him? Absolutely - unless he’s using the funds to feed orphans and he has taken a vow of poverty…
Curious, you determined that the Consumer Whore logo was “clearly poking fun”? Really?… When I first looked at it (before reading your article) I saw it as a kind of ‘anti-Starbucks’ protest.
A quick web search revealed that the comic book artist who created it was in fact sued…
http://www.illegal-art.org/print/index.html
I am actually an owner of a newly established website with plans to sell Kerusso items. I currently sell other Christian items and as you can see on my website I am not only selling these items to put bread on the table but also spread the word of God. Christians buy these t-shirts because they are proud to be able to tell others about Jesus, and they are a great tool to do just that. There are not many companies worried about these infringements because they know it is not affecting the face of there company in a negative manner. I hope you can see the good side of this and not only the negative. Thanks for the space on your blog and God Bless you!!
I am a Christian and I cringe when I see someone wearing these items. I don’t like that they need to associate with pop culture to be hip. I don’t think it does anything really to get the message out and it just makes the wearer look dumb. I really hate the ones that say FBI or CIA, I mean those people had to earn that shirt/logo.
A trademark gives the owner of the trademark exclusive rights to use the mark with products and services substantially similar to the trademark’s owner. 1) The marks in question have to confuse the consumer. 2) The marks have to be used with similar products or services. What do you think?
Trademark law also protects against “tarnishment” which protects famous marks from certain kinds of disparagment. Is being associated with Christians disparagement?
This may be unethical. But, courts don’t decide things based on ethics.
Give me a break……
The companies should be happy about it ! The shirts will remind people of the company and their product as much as it reminds people about Jesus. These people won’t normally wear a shirt with the companies stupid logos so the compnies are now getting advertising in a previously closed off area. I’d sue the companies for back-pay as a walking billboard !