Final Chapter in Adventist Trademark Suit
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A three-year trademark infringement suit between the Adventist Church and a West Palm Beach, Florida, congregation, over the use of the name "Seventh-day Adventist" in identifying the church, has finally ended with a court-approved settlement. |
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A three-year trademark infringement suit between the Seventh-day Adventist Church and a West Palm Beach, Florida congregation over the use of the name "Seventh-day Adventist" in identifying the church, has ended with a court-approved settlement.
On February 15, 2001, attorneys for the Adventist Church's General Conference and pastor Raphael Perez of the Eternal Gospel Church, filed a settlement agreement in the U.S. District Court in Miami, Florida. The case had been under appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
The settlement comes 10 months after federal Judge James Lawrence King ordered Perez and his church to stop using the words Seventh-day Adventist, the acronym SDA, or the Spanish equivalent, to advertise or publicize their congregation.
According to the terms of the settlement agreement, Perez's church will be able to identify itself with a two-line logo as follows:
ETERNAL GOSPEL CHURCH
Founded in (1990 or later) by Seventh-day Adventist Believers
When asked why the Adventist Church chose to settle the case, Walter E. Carson, an associate counsel in the Office of General Counsel explained, "We achieved, in the agreement, precisely what we sought in the litigation. Mr. Perez can no longer use the Seventh-day Adventist Church's name as the name of his church. The agreement prevents the likelihood of confusion, which was the original reason for the litigation."
Carson emphasized that the "tag line" permitted by the agreement merely describes persons who organized the Eternal Gospel Church and is not considered a part of the group's name.
"Church attorneys saw this as a basis on which the dispute could be resolved without affecting in any way the viability of King's decision," Carson said. "Our attorneys were extremely confident that the Court of Appeals would affirm King's ruling.
Carson expressed hope that other independent congregations who may be tempted to infringe on the church's trademark might find in this agreement a basis to change their names. Carson said that the church will carefully monitor Mr. Perez's activities to ensure his full compliance with the court-approved agreement.
"We would hope they [other independent groups] consider selecting names that would come within the fair use exception utilized in the settlement agreement," he said.
According to court documents, The Eternal Gospel Church was formed in 1991 by Perez and 40 to 50 supporters. In 1991 and 1992, Perez attempted to gain admission to the Southeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and later the Florida Conference. Each time the conferences denied Perez membership.
In 1994, Perez began placing newspaper advertisements around the United States using the Seventh-day Adventist name, or SDA. The church's name had also been used widely in his group's fliers, billboards, audio tape recordings, and on radio broadcasts.
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