It appears very much a form letter, and I am wondering if other webpages with the name "Mormon" in it have received similar letters.
Hello,
It has come to our attention that intellectual property managed by our office is being used in the on these websites. "Mormon" is a trademark owned by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., a non-profit corporation affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (the "Church").
We would like to have you add a disclaimer to your websites stating that you have no affiliation with the Church. Please add the disclaimer in a prominent location, in a legible size, font, and color. An example of disclaimer language is below.
"The products (services) offered by [name of User] are neither made, provided, approved nor endorsed by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Any content or opinions expressed, implied or included in or with the goods (services) offered by [name of User] are solely those of [name of User] and not those of Intellectual Reserve, Inc., or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
We offer licensing options for Church owned materials, including "Mormon" and images. Permission may be requested at https://permissions.lds.org. If you would like more information about licensing, you may call (800) 453-3860 x 3959 or email permissions@ldschurch.org.
Any future use of the Church's intellectual property will likewise require written permission from this office, which can be requested at the above website.
Please respond to this letter by November 29, 2017, confirming your compliance.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for your help protecting Church-owned intellectual property.
Sincerely yours,
Megan McGrath
Paralegal
Correlation-Intellectual Property
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
50 E. North Temple Street, COB 13
Salt Lake City, UT 84150-0013
Office: (801)240-2399
My understanding is that the LDS Church applied for a trademark at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on the name "Mormon" in 2002 but it was rejected as being too generic.
The LDS Church abandoned the attempt to trademark the name "Mormon" in 2007.
If that is so, I wonder why church legal is claiming to have such a trademark.
(I bolded the relevant language in the letter.)
