Liberty University Sued by Jerry Falwell’s Trust Over Trademark

Jerry Falwell’s family trust has sued Liberty University, which the late Christian televangelist founded, for trademark infringement over his name.

Alongside Falwell’s son Jerry Falwell Jr., the Dr. Jerry L. Falwell Family Trust alleged the university wrongfully used Falwell’s trademark, name, picture, and portrait in its advertising.

“Liberty intends to confuse consumers into believing that Liberty...is endorsed or sponsored, or otherwise associated or affiliated with, the Jerry Falwell brand,” they said. “It is not.”

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the US District Court for the Western District of Virginia, comes three years after Falwell Jr. resigned from his post as Liberty’s president amid a sex scandal. The university is now led by former Air Force major general Dondi E. Costin.

A Baptist preacher, Falwell became known for his television program “The Old Time Gospel Hour,” which aired in every state across 300 stations by the 1970s, according to the lawsuit. He also co-founded Moral Majority, a conservative political organization associated with the Christian right.

In 1971, after starting a megachurch and a Christian day school, Falwell founded Liberty in his hometown of Lynchburg, Va., the suit said. Today, the private evangelical university offers online degree programs and touts north of 130,000 students, according to its website.

A university spokesperson said in a statement to Bloomberg Law that the university prefers not to comment on active litigation, but context is helpful.

“This lawsuit is in response to a specific request by Mr. Falwell, one trustee of the Falwell Family Trust, for the university to pay $7 million dollars for his permission to continue to use the name of Liberty’s founder for the next four years,” the spokesperson said. “Included in his demand is the expectation that, in effect, former president Falwell would also have total editorial control of Liberty’s use of the name of Liberty’s founder. The university declined the request; so, this lawsuit was filed by Mr. Falwell. Liberty University is confident it will ultimately prevail in this case and the university will be able to maintain its use of the name of its founder.”

‘Millions of Dollars’

In Thursday’s complaint, Falwell’s son and family trust said Falwell used his name throughout his lifetime in connection with commercial pursuits as he built his brand. These pursuits “generated hundreds of millions of dollars,” they said.

Falwell’s trademark was registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2006. The mark covers a variety of goods including newsletters, retailing services, educational material, religious instruction, and ministerial services, according to the suit.

After the trust assumed ownership over Falwell’s mark, the lawsuit cited, the university affirmed the trust’s exclusive right in a written agreement and agreed “not to oppose, petition to cancel, or otherwise challenge or object” to the use.

However, the trust and Falwell Jr. alleged that Liberty has since engaged in the “unauthorized exploitation” of Falwell’s trademark in its promotional materials, on campus, and on its social media accounts.

Specifically, they said Liberty has used footprint engravings from a pair of his shoes for a walking path on campus. Additionally, they pointed to the usage of photos of Falwell in the Liberty Journal’s Fall 2021 magazine. An article in that edition of the magazine tells readers that the university commissioned a six-month study of Falwell’s handwriting to produce custom fonts, the suit said.

Jerry Falwell Center

The university’s plans to open a Jerry Falwell Center, expressed in the Fall 2021 magazine, is also infringement, the plaintiffs argued, because the trademark would be prominentlyfixed on the building’s exterior.

At a November 2022 convocation ceremony, then-President Jerry Prevo unveiled new renderings of the center, which included a lobby with a floor-to-ceiling portrait of Falwell, according to the lawsuit.

“We’re going to be using the entertaining technology of today...we’re consulting with the people who do Disneyland, Disney World,” Prevo said, as cited in the complaint.

Prevo then allegedly went on to present to the university audience with a rendering of a theater with Falwell’s hologram, saying that the hologram could “walk right out on the stage as if he was literally there.”

The family trust and Falwell Jr. sued Liberty on counts including infringement and false advertising. They demanded a trial by jury, as well as a permanent injunction and punitive damages under Virginia law.

The trust is represented by Cook Craig & Francuzenko PLLC, and Falwell Jr. is individually represented by Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP.

The case is Dr. Jerry L. Falwell Family Trust et al v. Liberty University, W.D. Va., No. 6:23-cv-00040, 7/27/23.