c. 1998 Religion News Service

ARLINGTON, Va. _ Nearly a decade ago, youth pastor Janie Tinklenberg struggled to devise a tangible symbol of teen-aged commitment to God.

Having read a century-old novel with a simple Christian concept _ asking”What would Jesus do?”in everyday circumstances _ she thought it would be nice for her youth group members in Holland, Mich., to wear a gentle reminder of that thought.

With the help of family and friends with advertising know-how, she decided to use a bracelet with the letters WWJD. It was a hit _ not only for the kids to remember their Christian faith, but as a conversation starter with friends who noticed the colorful adornment on their wrists.

Since then, the initials WWJD and the words”What Would Jesus Do?”have circled the wrists of millions of teens, and now are also accompanied by a dizzying array of other products _ T-shirts, mugs, Bibles, even a board game.

More than a mere tool of faith, it has become big business _ and the subject of a potential trademark battle.

Eight companies have filed more than a dozen applications for a registered trademark for WWJD or”What Would Jesus Do?”with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office just outside Washington, D.C.

Tinklenberg, now minister of youth and families at Peace Lutheran Church outside Columbus, Ohio, and others believe the idea was first conceived in an 1896 novel called”In His Steps.”In that book, Congregational pastor and author Charles Sheldon described how several church members pledged to abide by the”What would Jesus do”principle in their everyday lives.

Now, she is surprised at how much the idea has taken off.”It’s everywhere,”she said.”In some ways, it’s real humbling because it was just for 30 kids who I hoped could catch a vision for living like 30 of God’s kids.” Trademark applicants range from Victor Sutton, vice president of the New York-based A.D. Sutton & Sons, who wants a W.W.J.D. trademark for bags, backpacks and fannypacks, to Tinklenberg, who wants to turn over a trademark to a foundation that will help youth ministries.”It’s a new hot category,”said Sutton.

Tinklenberg, acknowledging the”cash cow”that has been created, still wants to keep the original intention intact _ by getting companies interested in using the trademark to pay a licensing fee to the foundation.”The market is huge. There is a ton of money being made,”said Tinklenberg, who’s been a youth pastor for 25 years.”Why couldn’t we tie a piece of that back to something that would be good for ministry?” Some of the applicants say they’re not worried about the plethora of products or the trademark applications because they think they have a corner on a particular block of what has been a very popular market. Other interested parties say they aren’t concerned about the trademark process because they believe it’s impossible for one group to get a trademark when the letters WWJD and words”What Would Jesus Do?”already are plastered on so many items.

Ken Freestone, director of special markets for W.W.J.D. for Lesco Corp., said two attorneys have told him the letters can’t be trademarked.”They say it’s public domain,”he said.”It’s too much a part of the common language.” That would be good news for his Lansing, Mich.-based company, which has sold close to 17 million bracelets and reaped $7.5 million in sales, with most of the purchases in the last three years. The nylon woven wrist bands come in 29 shades, including aztec and camouflage, and the company’s product line also features stuffed animals, calendars and pins of angels carrying a banner with the W.W.J.D. letters.

Christine Smith, marketing coordinator at Bob Siemon Designs, a Santa Ana, Calif., company that has distributed WWJD? bracelets and other products, said, the company isn’t among trademark applicants.”It’s been out there for so long,”she said.”It’s been in use for over a hundred years. It’s just isn’t copyrightable or trademarkable.” But the decision on trademarking either the words or the letters lies in the hands of an examining attorney at the trademark office in Arlington, Va.”The attorney will make a decision about whether the slogan will be perceived as a mark by the purchasing public,”said Sharon Marsh, an administrator at the trademark office.

Marsh said the fact that the annual gathering of Christian retailers in July was awash in WWJD paraphernalia does not mean that no one will receive a trademark.”It could also be that it’s a trademark and there’s just a lot of people using it and the trademark owners need to sort out who has the right to use it,”she said.”I have no idea how this one’s going to turn out.” Marsh could not estimate when decisions on the applications would be made, but said there is a 30-day period after approval of any trademark that would allow opponents to file for an appeal before it could be registered.

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Richard Green, general counsel for EMI Christian Music Group, hopes ForeFront Records can get a trademark for its distinctive logo, which includes an oval drawing of a hand, an eye, an ear and a mouth in addition to the letters WWJD.

ForeFront, a division of EMI based near Nashville, Tenn., has sold 100,000 units of a recording featuring songs of contemporary Christian musicians along with a W.W.J.D. bracelet. But the company also is interested in marketing books, Bibles, T-shirts and possibly a WWJD musical tour.”When we filed the application, we were unaware of how many people were going to be at the Christian Booksellers Association convention with WWJD T-shirts,”he said.”We believe we will get a trademark on our logo. Whether anybody will end up with a trademark on the letters remains to be seen.” Mark Abramson, director of operations of Cadaco, a division of Rapid Displays, a Chicago-based toy and game company, hopes to get a trademark in the games category. His company manufactures”What would Jesus do? The Game,”a board game that prompts players to answer”situational questions”about teen dilemmas such as dating, sex, drugs and alcohol.”If you look at the documentation, ours is the first in this particular class,”he said.

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Tinklenberg hopes the desire for a trademark won’t turn ugly.”What kind of nice black eye could the world give us to fight over `What Would Jesus Do’ stuff?”she asked.”It’s the worst thing that could happen.” Bill Anderson, president of CBA, formerly known as the Christian Booksellers Association, agrees.”I have to come back to the idea that WWJD is at the very heart of this and what would Jesus do?”asked Anderson, who is based in Colorado Springs, Colo.”If there are some issues that need to be resolved about something as fundamental even as a trademark we would sure want to see all of the individuals and companies … conduct themselves in a way that is consistent with the very thing that they’re trying to resolve _ WWJD.” Experts say the number of ministries and secular enterprises that continue to use the trendy words and letters will depend on the outcome of the trademark process _ as well as the popularity of the products, which could be decreasing slightly in the United States as it grows abroad. A verdict by the trademark office could lead to court battles or to some companies simply dropping out of efforts to milk the fad.

However the trademark process ends, Tinklenberg hopes its spiritual basis will linger.”If God’s going to use this to create this foundation, terrific,”she said.”If that doesn’t happen, then … some sales folks and marketers are going to make a ton of money and hopefully in spite of us, God’s going to use it.”

DEA END RNS