Who owns Jesus’ name? If you’re a start-up clothing company, you may find that “Jesus” belongs exclusively on Italian denim.
Since 2007, an Italian company, Jesus Jeans, has “owned the word ‘Jesus’ as a trademark, giving the company exclusive rights in America to sell clothing bearing the name of Christianity’s central figure,” the Wall Street Journal reports. And although the company says it isn’t concerned about churches printing Jesus’ name on apparel, it won’t stand to let other clothing companies infringe upon its brand.
Jesus Jeans has put the kibosh on U.S.-based clothing companies “Jesus First,” “Sweet Jesus,” “Jesus Couture,” and “Jesus Surfed,” all of which encountered trouble when attempting to trademark their own names.
CT has previously reported on “mass marketing the Good News,” and ran a 2009 cover story on why Christians should be wary of attempts to make evangelism another form of marketing.
