Tyler Perry beats out reality star Kim “Poprah” Kearney for “What Would Jesus Do” trademark
After a long haul in court, actor and director Tyler Perry comes out on top! As you may recall, back in 2008, reality star Kim “Poprah” Kearney formerly of the hit series “I Want to Work for Diddy,” filed a trademark application to use “What Would Jesus Do” for a Christian reality show in January 2008.
In May of that same year, Tyler Perry Studios filed an application of their own application in an attempt to secure the rights to use the phrase for entertainment products including films, musicals and a television series.
Kearney claims that she pitched her Christian reality show to Perry’s team months before the studio filed for the trademark. In their defense, Perry’s team argued that Poprah, who had yet produced a television show in connection with the title, had no intention of using the phrase, so they sought to cancel her trademark entirely.
Unfortunately for Kearney, Perry’s team provided more than sufficient evidence that the reality star had no connection to the trademark, including her website for the show which had a non-functioning email address.
As for Kearney’s application, as of June 20, it is pending cancellation, due to non-use grounds giving Tyler Perry Studios the right to use the trademark for business. – ruthie hawkins/@ruubabie
