Church Sues Podcast Over Use of Mormon Name

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints filed a lawsuit in April against four podcasters, including the Mormon Stories program, alleging unauthorized use of the term "Mormon" and copyrighted imagery. The suit claims the podcasters displayed church-style logos and fonts after being asked to stop and that the continued use was intended to create confusion.

The church stopped referring to itself as the Mormon church in 2019 following an announcement by its leader that members should use only the full name.

The church had previously used "Mormon" in advertising, a television channel, and the name of its choir. Those references were changed after the 2019 directive. The church argues it retains rights to the term because of its long association with it.

In a legal filing last week, the Mormon Stories organization stated that no single church owns the word "Mormon" and accused the church of using trademark law to limit discussion of its culture and history. The filing also noted that more than 400 Mormon sects trace their origins to the same founder and that the term should remain available for public use.

The church has a record of pursuing litigation against former members while generally avoiding such actions against current members.