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Scientology's Copyright & Trademark Lawsuits - Suppression of Criticism?
Critics Alleges that Scientology Misuse the Courts to Suppress Critics

From Austin Cline, About.com

Scientology's Lawsuits - Anonymous Scientology Protest April 12, 2008

Scientology's Lawsuits - Anonymous Scientology Protest April 12, 2008

Copyright 2008, Bonnie Cline. Used with Permission

A common reaction which the Church of Scientology has towards critics is to bring copyright and trademark lawsuits against those who quote much from Scientology material or use Scientology images. Even people who quote relatively short passages from Scientology texts have been sued on the argument that this information qualifies as "trade secrets," not unlike secret formulas in manufacturing processes. Maintaining control over one's brand makes sense for a business, but not a religion.

In 1995 the Church of Scientology brought a lawsuit against the Washington Post to prevent a reporter from accurately describing some of the Scientology teachings that were part of another lawsuit. The Church of Scientology further argued that it would cause "devastating, cataclysmic spiritual harm" to any Scientologists who read that information without proper preparation. The Church of Scientology believes that the truth must be revealed to people gradually, in stages as they are prepared to learn what's really going on.

Judge Leonie Brinkema rejected all arguments offered by the Church of Scientology and recognized that they were a transparent attempt to censor critics and keep people from learning what Scientology really teaches: "the Court is now convinced that the primary motivation of RTC in suing Lerma, DGS and the Post is to stifle criticism of Scientology in general and to harass its critics. As the increasingly vitriolic rhetoric of its briefs and oral argument now demonstrates, the RTC appears far more concerned about criticism of Scientology than vindication of its secrets."

This is the same position of critics of Scientology who insist that Scientology is abusing the courts to silence criticism. It only makes sense to quote the original sources in order to accurately and fairly explain what Scientologists believe and what Scientology teaches, but it's difficult to do so when that material is aggressively defended and kept secret with copyright laws. Of course, all the "secrets" of Scientology have been available on the internet for a long time now. This is why the Anonymous protesters of Scientology carry signs telling people to do searches for particular words and phrases.

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