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The trademark lawsuit

The case record below is maintained by the Open Stories Foundation at mormonstories.org · last updated October 2, 2026

In April 2026, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its intellectual-property arm, Intellectual Reserve, Inc., filed a federal lawsuit against the Open Stories Foundation and Dr. John Dehlin — the nonprofit and the host behind Mormon Stories Podcast — alleging trademark and copyright infringement over the podcast’s name and branding. Mormon Stories — one of the longest-running independent podcasts covering Mormon culture, history, and lived experience, publishing for more than two decades — moved to dismiss the case and filed its answer and counterclaims on June 22, 2026, arguing that the Church is attempting to use intellectual property law to restrict lawful commentary about Mormonism and to control use of a word it publicly abandoned. Briefing on the motion to dismiss was completed on September 21, 2026, and the motion now awaits a decision from the court. On September 28, 2026, Mormon Stories filed a notice of supplemental evidence in further support of the motion. The court has scheduled a hearing on the motion for November 24, 2026.

This page is the official, continuously updated resource for the case: the timeline, court filings, our public statements, frequently asked questions, related episodes, and press coverage.

The Case at a Glance

  • Case: Intellectual Reserve, Inc. and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints v. Open Stories Foundation and John P. Dehlin, No. 2:26-cv-00321-RJS-JCB
  • Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Utah (Judge Robert J. Shelby; Magistrate Judge Jared C. Bennett)
  • Filed: April 17, 2026
  • Claims: Trademark and copyright infringement related to the name “Mormon Stories” and podcast branding
  • Our response: Motion to Dismiss, and Answer and Counterclaims, filed June 22, 2026, raising First Amendment, fair-use, laches (unreasonable delay), and trademark-abandonment defenses
  • Status: Active litigation. Mormon Stories’ motion to dismiss is fully briefed and awaiting the court’s decision. In August 2026, the ACLU of Utah and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed amicus briefs supporting Mormon Stories and urging the court to dismiss the Church’s claims. On August 20, 2026, the Church filed its opposition to the motion to dismiss, and on August 28, 2026, its Answer to Mormon Stories’ Counterclaims. On September 21, 2026, Mormon Stories filed its reply in support of the motion to dismiss, completing the briefing. On September 28, 2026, Mormon Stories filed a Notice of Supplemental Evidence in further support of the motion, and on October 1, 2026, the Church filed a response to that notice. A hearing on the motion to dismiss is set for November 24, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Robert J. Shelby.

Timeline of the Lawsuit

2005 – 2026: Mormon Stories Podcast operates publicly and continuously under its name for more than twenty years, publishing thousands of interviews with current and former Church members, historians, and scholars. During that time, the Church never objects to the podcast’s name or branding — only, at times, to its content and viewpoints.

2018: Church President Russell M. Nelson announces that the terms “Mormon” and “LDS” should no longer be used to refer to the Church, and the Church publicly moves away from “Mormon” branding — while quietly maintaining trademark registrations.

November 2025: The Church’s intellectual-property manager contacts the Open Stories Foundation about the podcast’s branding — the first time in twenty years the Church raises any trademark concern. In good faith, Mormon Stories makes significant changes requested by the Church — changing its logo from blue to orange, adding disclaimers, and removing copyrighted images and design elements.

January – March 2026: The parties attempt mediation. It fails.

April 17, 2026: The Church files suit in federal court in Utah, alleging trademark and copyright infringement (read the complaint with exhibits). The same day, the Church Newsroom publishes a statement titled “Getting It Right: Clarifying Trademark and Branding Concerns.” The story receives national coverage.

June 22, 2026: Mormon Stories and the Open Stories Foundation file their Motion to Dismiss (Docket No. 41) and their Answer and Counterclaims (Docket No. 42), arguing that the Church expressly abandoned “Mormon” as a trademark, that no one owns the word “Mormon,” and that the lawsuit threatens the free-speech rights of hundreds of independent organizations, businesses, and creators who use the word descriptively. See our press release and detailed Q&A.

August 10, 2026: With the court’s permission, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) file amicus (“friend of the court”) briefs in support of Mormon Stories (Docket Nos. 69 and 70), urging the court to dismiss the Church’s lawsuit on free-speech grounds (read the ACLU of Utah brief, the EFF brief, and EFF’s public statement). We discuss the filings in this episode.

August 20, 2026: The Church files its memorandum in opposition to Mormon Stories’ motion to dismiss (Docket No. 71), asking the court to deny the motion. In the filing the Church states that Mr. Dehlin “can use Mormon in connection with his podcast” and that its trademark claims rest on design elements the podcast adopted in 2022 combined with the title. A Church spokesman also gives a brief on-camera statement to Utah media — the Church’s first public remarks since filing the suit.

August 28, 2026: The Church files its Answer to Mormon Stories’ Counterclaims (Docket No. 72).

September 21, 2026: Mormon Stories files its Reply in Further Support of its Motion to Dismiss, with Exhibits E–K (Docket Nos. 73 and 74), completing briefing on the motion. The reply argues that the Church’s own opposition has narrowed the case — conceding that use of the “Mormon Stories” title alone does not infringe, and that the Church seeks only an injunction, not damages, on its trademark claims — and asks why the case exists at all, since the 2022 design elements the Church now points to were dropped before the lawsuit was filed. It also argues that the Church’s twenty-year delay bars its trademark claims (laches), that the First Amendment protects the podcast’s title, and that the Church should be required to amend its complaint to match the positions it has taken in court.

September 28, 2026: Mormon Stories files a Notice of Supplemental Evidence in Further Support of its Motion to Dismiss, with Exhibits L–O (Docket No. 75). The notice points the court to a September 23 podcast interview in which the Church’s lead counsel discussed the case, and to public records from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: in October 2022, the Church formally opposed a trademark application for BAD MORMON filed by Heather Gay’s company, Heathertainment, Inc., alleging that the name “so resembles Opposer’s MORMON Marks as to be likely to cause confusion” (Exhibit M), and the application was abandoned in January 2024 (Exhibit N). A further exhibit is a Patent and Trademark Office search of trademark board proceedings involving the word “Mormon” (Exhibit O). The notice argues that this history underscores the importance of the First Amendment defense raised in the motion.

September 29, 2026: The court sets a hearing on Mormon Stories’ Motion to Dismiss for November 24, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Robert J. Shelby in Courtroom 3.100 (Docket No. 76).

October 1, 2026: The Church files a response to Mormon Stories’ notice of supplemental evidence (Docket No. 77). The response argues that the notice is improper under the court’s local rules because it introduces new evidence rather than legal authority; that material outside the complaint is irrelevant to a motion to dismiss; and that the Church’s opposition to registering BAD MORMON as a trademark is a different matter from the use of the same words as a book title.

This timeline will be updated as the case develops.

Court Filings & Documents

Future filings will be added here as they become available. The full public docket is available on CourtListener.

Our Public Statements

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the LDS Church suing Mormon Stories?

The Church alleges trademark and copyright infringement over the podcast’s name and branding. Mormon Stories believes the suit is an attempt to use intellectual property law to control the word “Mormon” and restrict lawful commentary about Mormonism — after the podcast operated under the same name, without objection, for more than twenty years.

Doesn’t the Church own the word “Mormon”?

No one owns a word that the public uses to describe a religion, a culture, and a people. Notably, the Church itself publicly abandoned “Mormon” as a brand in 2018, when President Nelson directed that the term no longer be used. Our filings argue the Church cannot abandon a term publicly while wielding trademark registrations to police how others use it. In its August 20 court filing, the Church itself told the court that the case is not about “ownership or control of the word Mormon” and that Mr. Dehlin “can use Mormon in connection with his podcast.”

Didn’t Mormon Stories try to settle this?

Yes. Before litigation, Mormon Stories made numerous changes the Church requested — altering logo colors, adding disclaimers, and removing copyrighted images and design elements. The Church pursued litigation anyway. Details are in our Q&A.

If the Church says the case isn’t about the word “Mormon,” what is it about?

That is the question our September 21 reply puts to the court. The Church’s complaint asks the court to stop all use of “Defendants’ Marks” — which, as pleaded, include the podcast’s title — and seeks money damages on its trademark claims. Its August 20 opposition instead says the case rests on design elements Mormon Stories adopted in 2022, combined with the title, and that the Church seeks only an injunction on its trademark claims. Those 2022 design elements were retired before the lawsuit was filed. Our reply asks the court to require the Church to amend its complaint so that it matches what the Church is now telling the court. You can read both documents above and compare them.

Why does this case matter beyond Mormon Stories?

Hundreds of independent organizations, scholars, publishers, and creators use the word “Mormon” descriptively. If a church can use trademark law to control who may use the common name of a religion, the free-speech implications extend far beyond one podcast — which is why the ACLU of Utah and EFF have weighed in on Mormon Stories’ side.

What happens next?

Mormon Stories’ motion to dismiss is now fully briefed — motion, amicus briefs, the Church’s opposition, and our reply are all before the court. On September 28, Mormon Stories also filed a notice of supplemental evidence (Docket No. 75), which is before the court as well, and on October 1 the Church filed a response to it (Docket No. 77). The court has scheduled a hearing on the motion for November 24, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. (Docket No. 76). The court may rule at or after the hearing, hearing dates sometimes change, and there is no deadline by which the court must decide. If the motion is denied in whole or in part, the case proceeds toward discovery. We will update this page as the court rules on pending matters and as new filings are made.

Episodes About the Lawsuit

Press Coverage

Note: the Deseret News and KSL are owned by the Church.

Legal commentary and events

YouTube and Social Media Coverage

Independent creators have covered the lawsuit in depth, including in an interview with the Church’s own lead attorney. Videos are grouped by channel, newest first. Short videos are marked “(short).”

The Church’s Lead Attorney, in His Own Words

Analyzing Mormonism (Julia)

Radio Free Mormon

Mormon Newscast

Streamed on the Mormon Discussion and Mormonish Podcast channels.

Mormonish Podcast

Friendly Atheist (Hemant Mehta)

Holy Koolaid

Alyssa Grenfell

Nemo the Mormon (satire)

More Commentary

How You Can Help

Mormon Stories is an independent, listener-supported nonprofit. Defending this lawsuit is expensive, and your support directly sustains our ability to keep publishing honest conversations about Mormonism. If you value this work, please consider giving to the Mormon Stories Legal Defense Fund, making a general donation, or sharing this page.

Media inquiries: please use the contact information in our press release.

Our coverage of the case

On the podcast

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