Jerry Falwell Jr. made an announcement on Friday stating that the Falwell Family Trust has initiated legal action against Liberty University. The lawsuit alleges that the university unlawfully employed Dr. Jerry Falwell’s trademark, name, and image without authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following Dr. Falwell’s demise in 2007, his intellectual property was bequeathed to his children, with Jerry Falwell Jr. serving as a trustee and beneficiary among them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLiberty announced it is spending approximately $35 million of student tuition money on an ostentatious Disneyesque shrine, including an interactive hologram,\u201d Falwell, Jr. said. \u201cI asked the University to stop improperly using my father\u2019s intellectual property and sent the University leadership a proposed license agreement that would cover the Jerry Falwell Center, assuming there was meaningful consultation with the family about the use of my father\u2019s intellectual property. Unfortunately, they chose to continue using it without authorization, and in an undignified manner that seems to attempt to aggrandize and deify my father in a fawning way that he would never have wanted or approved. It really is the \u2018Jerry First Center\u2019 blatantly ignoring the fact that my father was known for producing millions of \u2018Jesus First\u2019 lapel pins free of charge for anyone to wear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the lawsuit, Liberty acknowledged the Trust\u2019s ownership of the trademark, but continued to use it to \u201ccreate confusion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n