Why does JW.org need a registered trademark?

cedars

Hi everyone

I've just noticed that the logo for JW.org is a registered trademark.

This is how the logo appears on the back cover of the new magazines...

jw org logo

Maybe I'm overthinking this, but I'm struggling to understand why a website for a religious organization that purports to be involved in not-for-profit educational work needs to register a trademark for its website. A trademark is something commercial companies use to protect their goods or services. Here's what the Wiki article on trademarks has to say....

The essential function of a trademark is to exclusively identify the commercial source or origin of products or services, so a trademark, properly called, indicates source or serves as a badge of origin. In other words, trademarks serve to identify a particular business as the source of goods or services.

Again, I struggle to see the justification for registering a trademark for a logo to a website address when the website in question is not supposed to be commercial in nature.

Anyway, I thought it might be worth a quick JWN-brainstorm. Why did they do this?

Thoughts anyone?

Cedars

tootired2care

They have concocted something so powerful that it has duped and blinded more than 7 million people (smart ones too), you don't think that should be trademarked and patented? LOL...

bats in the belfry

Cedars, welcome to the club.

So far I only can discern that it is designed exclusively for the new online market presence (a real brainy logo, isn't it?).

cedars

Hi bats, sorry - I didn't realise you already had a thread on this! Stoopid me.

Cedars

bats in the belfry

No worries: Multitasking is not my specialty either.

sir82

I really don't understand why it would be difficult to grasp.

I venture to say that probably virtually every large non-profit organization has registered trademarks, including on their websites - Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, American Cancer Society, etc.

Why would you expect the WTS to be different?

cedars

sir82 - if it was the watchtower logo I could be more understanding, but the actual name of the website?

I just don't get it.

Cedars

If the red cross domain name is trademarked, it isn't immediately obvious on their website.

Besides, I'm not saying which organizations do or don't do this. I'm more interested in the reasons why the manner in which a web address is presented is so valuable to the Watchtower.

It's not a burning issue, more of a curiosity.

Cedars

Why does JW.org need a registered trademark?

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