"Pope" is now "Pope(c)" by the Catholic Church

[thewayne]

From the news release: "...the Vatican has felt it necessary to declare that "it alone has the right to ensure the respect due to the Successors of Peter, and therefore, to protect the figure and personal identity of the Pope from the unauthorized use of his name and/or the papal coat of arms for ends and activities which have little or nothing to do with the Catholic Church."

The declaration alludes to attempts to use ecclesiastical or pontifical symbols and logos to "attribute credibility and authority to initiatives" as another reason to establish their “copyright” on the Holy Father's name, picture and coat of arms.

"Consequently, the use of anything referring directly to the person or office of the Supreme Pontiff... and/or the use of the title 'Pontifical,' must receive previous and express authorization from the Holy See," concluded the message released to the press."

Uh huh. Copyright is being standardized across the world, and somehow I think that a term that was first used some 1500 years ago based on words from Latin and Greek isn't really going to pass legal standards.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/holy_see_declares_unique_copyright_on_papal_figure

http://idle.slashdot.org/story/09/12/20/2117230/Holy-See-Declares-a-Unique-Copyright-On-the-Pope?art_pos=8


I've been toying with the idea of making a wrestling game, I guess now one of the characters is going to be The Phantom Pope. I wonder if they're going to take on Father Guido Sarducci for Pope On A Rope.

Comments

[silveradept]

Can a title be copyrighted? The Papal Seal I can see having a shot, but everything else certainly doesn't seem like it would pass muster.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

I doubt they can copyright or TM any of it because it's been in existence for so long. I am quite amused by their attempt. I understand their reasoning, but I don't think it'll fly in court.

[silveradept]

I don't think so either. Although, the Red Cross did successfully get other people and entities to stop using the red cross on their products...