[Press release: Babock/trademark lawsuit] Page: 1 of 4
2 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this text.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
I
NEWS RELEASE
SDA Kinship International, Inc.
P.O. Box 3840 " Los Angeles, CA 90078-3840 " 213/876/2076
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 15, 1991
Submitted By: Sherri Babcock, Communications Director-Kinship
For More Information Call: 614-899-7157
Babcock/trademark lawsuit
A lawsuit against the gay and lesbian support group Seventh-
day Adventist Kinship International Inc. by the Seventh-day
Adventist Church resulted in a victory for gay rights.
The General Conference Corp. of Seventh-day Adventists, with
a membership of 6.7 million, filed the suit Dec. 7, 1987 in U.S.
District Court seeking to bar the Kinship organization from using
the name "Seventh-day Adventist" or its acronym "SDA" in their
corporate name and advertising. The church, who holds trademarks
for the name, sought to disassociate itself from the Kinship
organization, claiming that the organization was committing
trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising
since they were not officially affiliated with the SDA Church.
Kinship's argument that their membership is made up of gay
and lesbian members of the SDA Church and that the name "Seventh-
day Adventist" is a generic term describing its members was
upheld by the court in a decision handed down October 7. U.S.
District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer said, "There is no term that
adequately describes an adherent to the religion of Seventh-day
Adventism other than 'Seventh-day Adventist.'" The term is,
therefore, generic because it refers to a religion and is not
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
[Press release: Babock/trademark lawsuit], text, October 15, 1991; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc915891/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.