The company’s warnings are anything but subtle, as Virginiaentrepreneur Michael Julius Anton recently found out.
After attempting to trademark his Christian t-shirt and surfaccessory line “Jesus Surfed,” Anton received an email from JesusJeans’ parent company, BasicNet SpA. The letter asked Anton toabandon his application, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"If you do not agree, then Jesus Jeans reserves its right to anaccounting/damages and all other appropriate relief with respect toyour trademark and trademark application," the email read.
Anton aims to fight the infringement claim - and he’s not the firstone to go up against the denim company in court.
Jesus Jeans is currently in the midst of settlement talks with“Jesus Up,” a small business which sells Christian-themedt-shirts.
"The name was so good and easy…when I looked it up and it wasn'ttrademarked, I realized it was truly a gift from the Lord,”Jesus Up founder Jeff Lamont said.
But Jesus Jeans didn’t agree. The company was quick to contactLamont, claiming that his apparel brand infringed on its trademark.BasicNet SpA demanded that he scrap his plans to commercializeJesus Up apparel, and presented evidence at a patent trial. Bothparties have agreed to suspend the trial while they make an attemptat a settlement.
"How anyone can claim the name Jesus for themselves and put atrademark on it is beyond me," Lamont said.
But not every small business has been prepared to fight Jesus Jeans– many have backed down amid fear of lawsuits.
The denim company has previously convinced labels such as “JesusFirst,” “Sweet Jesus,” and “Jesus Couture” to abandon theirtrademark efforts.
But in the true spirit of Jesus, the company insists it hascompassion for the church.
“If somebody – a small church or even a big church – wants touse ‘Jesus’ for printing a few t-shirts, we don’t care,”general counsel for intellectual property at BasicNet, DomenicoSindico, said.
However, he says that the commercialization of such apparel is“a concern.”
After years of fighting to trademark the word “Jesus,” the USPatent and Trademark Office granted BasicNet SpA exclusive rightsto the word in 2007. The company’s trademark on the word “Jesus”covers clothing and sportswear in the US.
But not every country has been so receptive to the controversialbrand. In 2003, Britain’s patent office rejected BasicNet SpA’sapplication, calling the name “morally offensive to thepublic.”
Attempts to trademark the word “Jesus” in other countries such asGermany, Ireland, Turkey, China, Switzerland, Norway, Cuba, andAustralia were also unsuccessful. However, the clothing companyfound a loophole, registering through the European Union as a“Community Trademark,” which makes the brand valid across the EU –including Britain.
Jesus Jeans isn’t the first consumer product to face criticism forits religious connotation. Earlier this month, restaurant chainPret A Manger was forced to withdraw its “Virgin Mary Crisps” afterreceiving a wave of complaints.
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