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iranfromthezoo · Dec 25, 2006, 01:58 AM

Okay guys I work for a company called Disciple Ministries. (discipleministries.com) The website is currently being revamped by me. While I was doing google searches for our website I found this site. http://www.adisciple.com/Home.htm My question is A: Is this a blatant rip off what we do or what? I understand we are both working for the same cause but also for the same reason they cannot steal our tagline or anything like that. If the tagline is trademarked can we tell them to stop?

What do you guys recommend would be the wisest and smartest decision about this?

Dark Helmet · Dec 25, 2006, 02:09 AM

I say shoot you both and let God sort it out.

iranfromthezoo · Dec 25, 2006, 02:28 AM

dark...you suck crack man!

keekeeree · Dec 25, 2006, 02:33 AM

wwjd

iranfromthezoo · Dec 25, 2006, 02:38 AM

OKAY enough of the crap! haha. Come one are you guys drinking to much eggnog?

OwlBoy · Dec 25, 2006, 02:59 AM

Yes, as far as the tag line goes, if its your trademark, and your both doing things that relate to each other, you can legally get them to stop using that tag line. Thats why trademarks exist.

-Owl

Tuoder · Dec 25, 2006, 03:01 AM

What Would Jesus Copyright?

iranfromthezoo · Dec 25, 2006, 03:16 AM

the bible tuoder!

Chuckit · Dec 25, 2006, 03:31 AM

I'd ask them nicely to stop. If they don't, and you own the trademark, I'd ask them more forcefully to stop. Just to check, though, are you sure your folks came up with it first?

(Also, I Am Not A Lawyer and all that. That's just my layman's opinion.)

mac128k-1984 · 08:08 AM

Well after comparing both websites, the other site is similar but it doesn't look like its a rip off.
Its not like you invented discipleship and it will be a tough sell to try to force them not too when there are so many ministires offering discipleship training.

The name is simiar, I grant you that but not enough imho to warrant shutting them down.

Now comes the moral question, if you are looking to affirm and equip believers how are you fullfilling that mission when you ask somebody else to stop that very thing.

Remember the apostles tried to stop someone that wasn't part of their group from using Jesus' name but Jesus said STOP, anyone who is not against me is for me (paraphrased).

As others put wwjd, its actually pretty accurate. What would Jesus say from having another website trying to teach, affirm and instill his discples with knowledge and power?

Edit: if you're just concerned with the tagline then yes, you can ask them to stop using it and yes it looks to be a blatent rip off. The website, content and anything else doesn't look like it was copied from you though.

Tuoder · Dec 25, 2006, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by iranfromthezoo

the bible tuoder!

I'm pretty sure Jesus only has a right to the red letter stuff.

iranfromthezoo · Dec 25, 2006, 09:33 AM

mac, agreed the designs are totally different. But at the same time they are calling themselves disciple ministries, which we have the same name, and they are using invest in a few and change the world while we use the same thing.

Also their link, adisciple.com we also have a shirt by the name of adisciple. Also this website started on feb 15, 2006 while we have been around for over 6 years. While you may disagree with what we are doing. We are a business and we do need to protect what is ours. Ministry isn't immune from being ripped off.

mac128k-1984 · Dec 25, 2006, 09:50 AM

If someone is wanting to start a discipleship business/website and discipleministries is already taken they cannnot have the word disciple in their domain name?

You may have a tough go of trying to prove that in court, especially since there are so many disciple websites. Just do a google, I found a number of them.

I agree the tagline appears to be a rip off but there's nothing really preventing them from having a discipleship business.

You want to sue them, that's you business, that seems to be the amercian way (suing others out of business). You asked if that site was copyright infringment my opinion is that it isn't but my opinion isn't the one that counts.

good luck

turtle777 · Dec 25, 2006, 10:47 AM

I fail to see any resemblance.

What exactly do you claim they ripped of ?

-t

Dark Helmet · Dec 25, 2006, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by iranfromthezoo

dark...you suck crack man!

"A Disciple is one who loves God, our Lord Jesus Christ with all his heart, soul, and mind, and tries to become more and more like him through a life of faith and obedience."

You're well on your way!

ghporter · Dec 25, 2006, 10:59 AM

The tag line is the only thing that's similar, and it strikes me as something I've seen in a number of church-oriented presentations over the years. As this idea is somewhat fundamental, I'd think that having two different churches come up with similar (NOT identical) versions of the same thing is not terribly surprising.

And why "make them stop"? How can their use of a tagline that's similar to yours hurt your site or your church? You really don't want to get into urinary olympics with another church, do you? Is that what it's all about?

FireWire · Dec 25, 2006, 01:36 PM

Or you could report them for operating a pyramidal scheme

Chuckit · Dec 25, 2006, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

I fail to see any resemblance.

What exactly do you claim they ripped of ?

-t

The slogan is exactly the same.

iranfromthezoo · Dec 25, 2006, 02:53 PM

agreed, I'm not advocating suing or anything else. I guess I should have made this clearer. I Don't care that they have this...it just kind of bothers me that stuff like that was taken (seems that way) I'm not into stopping anyone from doing ministry or kingdom ministry. Do you think thought that in the future this could be a hindrance. Should we ask them to politely change the slogan or something? Or just keep monitoring them to see if anymore changes happen with them. Like I said it's really not that big of a deal, just wanted advice on how you would handle this.

euchomai · Dec 25, 2006, 03:03 PM

I would have a lawyer send them a cease and desist letter ASAP. That should be enough to get them to change the tag line.

zro · Dec 25, 2006, 04:10 PM

Nothing funnier to see on Christmas.

If what the two of you do really is so similar, why don't you contact them and see what you can do to cooperate?

ghporter · Dec 25, 2006, 05:40 PM

How can spreading The Word on two different sites become a "hindrance?" And I saw TWO different, though very similar tag lines. "Invest in a few AND change the world" versus "Invest in a few(semicolon) change the world. Maybe massaged, but not "lifted" from your site.

There's an old story about calculus (a true one too). Yes, this does apply. Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz INDEPENDENTLY invented/derived/discovered the calculus. Newton was rather arrogant (he had some reason to be, but that's beside the point), and when he saw Leibniz's papers on the calculus, he charged him with plagiarism. To his death, Newton felt he'd been robbed, but the facts do not bear this out. So Leibniz goes down in history as being incredibly intelligent and having independently invented the calculus, while Newton goes down in history as being a jerk. Take this story as a parable-don't go out looking to be Newton when there's no real evidence that anything bad has actually happened.

If you have a copyright on that phrase, contact the webmaster of the other site and point that out. Come to an understanding. Behave in a Christian manner... I'll bet your response will be "Well I'll be! How do you think we both came up with such similar tag lines?" And it cannot hurt you if it turns out that the other webmaster DID lift the phrase because it will show that you made a good faith effort to resolve the issue without courts.

Blasphemy · Dec 25, 2006, 07:40 PM

Christ is big business. zoo is out to get paid; nothing wrong with that

turtle777 · Dec 25, 2006, 09:48 PM

OMGWTFBBQ

Both sites summed up Jesus' discipleship efforts the same way. Teh infringement.

Sue them. Crucify them. Excommunicate them.

-t

pyrite · Dec 28, 2006, 02:12 AM

you've got better things to do in your line of work than follow up copyright infringements

if you're the originals, and they're the clones, i'm sure you'll win out in the end anyway!!

RAILhead · Dec 28, 2006, 06:48 AM

I think both sites are horrible, so since they need to be redesigned, come up with a different slogan. Problem solved!

andi*pandi · Dec 28, 2006, 08:09 AM

I agree that IF you own the copyright on the tagline, you should just email them and let them know.

Also, you have a typo in the last menu item "discple partners."

Shaddim · 08:27 PM

forget it, I'll start a new thread.

KeriVit · Feb 9, 2008, 08:19 PM

I'm really not sure what your comment has to do with the original thread and I am completely confused as to what iranfrom thezoo was even talking about.

Eriamjh · Feb 9, 2008, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

I say shoot you both and let God sort it out.

Would you like to shoot him now or wait till you get home?

Shaddim · Feb 9, 2008, 08:25 PM

Well, I saw the thread was about copyright infringement and thought it would be the right place to ask.

peeb · Feb 10, 2008, 04:40 AM

You should try to patent Christianity, then sue every church in existence to pay you royalties.