Register Trademarks and Keep the Faith: Trademarks, Religion, and Identity

Abstract

Religions frequently wage battles in court over the use of various religious trademarks. These battles, however, are not directed toward winning traditional trademark rights. At the heart of these disputes is a struggle to protect religious identity. This article argues that religions use trademark law to protect their identities because there are no other viable legal means available. Nevertheless, trademark law cannot wholly protect religious identity because of its focus on consumer perception. Because of the deficiency provided by current trademark law, this article proposes a new conceptual framework for resolving these disputes.

Keywords: trademark, trademarks, religion, identity, faith, conflict, consumer, confusion, authenticity, authentic, confusingly, UDRP