The Church sends a letter to the media

Today the Newsroom site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (http://newsroom.lds.org) posted a letter sent out two days ago "from Elder Lance B. Wickman, General Counsel of the Church to publishers of major newspapers, TV stations and magazines."

The letter is available at http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/media-letter.

I found this part interesting:

Specifically, we have obtained registrations for the name “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” “Mormon,” “Book of Mormon” and related trade and service marks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and corresponding agencies in a significant number of foreign countries.

This sentence and the fact that this letter is being sent out by the General Counsel (the chief lawyer, for those unfamiliar with the term) of the Church makes me wonder if the Church might pursue legal avenues is ensuring that the term "Mormon" and other references to the Church are used appropriately. I'm not sure what legal basis there might be for that--there aren't any trademark infringement issues involved, but perhaps a libel case could be brought if a news outlet is negligent in adhering to the guidelines. Any thoughts on this are welcome in the comments.

On a related note, the Newsroom also released material today, at http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/church-seeks-to-address-public-confusion-over-texas-polygamy-group, that serves to clarify the difference between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), and the polygamist groups, such as the FLDS.