This page archives information regarding a lawsuit brought against the Utah Lighthouse Ministry by the LDS Church over purported copyright infringement and online linking, involving digital reproduction of the Church Handbook of Instructions.
Key Information
- Basic Summary (Sandra Tanner’s Statement for the Utah Lighthouse Ministry, December 12, 1999)
- Full Story (“LDS Church Sues Ministry,” Salt Lake City Messenger, no. 96, February 2001)
- Lawsuit Settlement: News Release / Statement
Consider . . .
“We see the Internet as an additional communications medium which we will use to provide both church members and the public with accurate, easily accessible information about the church.”
LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills
“LDS Web Site Logs Big Load Of Hits Daily”
Salt Lake Tribune, Feb. 27, 1999, p. C3
Chronology of Events and Articles
(ASCENDING)
(July 1999 – February 2001)
- February 2001 — Salt Lake City Messenger no. 96
“LDS Church Sues Ministry”
- December 14, 2000 — Update on Settlement
- December 14, 2000 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“Church Settles Copyright Suit,” (p. B2) - December 11, 2000 — Baptist Press article
“Ex-Mormon couple prioritize ministry in settling LDS-filed Internet suit” - December 7, 2000 — Salt Lake City Weekly article
“The Tanners’ Uneasy Settlement” - December 7, 2000 — New York Times (AP) brief
“Mormon church is settling Internet test case, critics say” - December 1, 2000 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“LDS Suit Nearing Settlement,” (p. C1)
- November 30, 2000 — Permanent Injunction and Judgment, and Settlement Stipulation signed by all parties.
Permanent Injunction and Judgment documents (click to view)
Settlement Stipulation documents (click to view)
News conference after the settlement (in front of the Utah Lighthouse Ministry Bookstore, November 30, 2000).
Sandra and Jerald Tanner with Brian Barnard (Utah Lighthouse Ministry lawyer).
- April 12, 2000 — Baptist Press article
“Talks under way over Mormon lawsuit against cult-watchers’ Internet site”
- February 1, 2000 — Baptist Press article
“Mormon suit against couple alleges copyright infringement of church book”
- January 28, 2000 — Order on Utah Lighthouse Ministry Motion for Dismissal.
- (For reference see: 17 U.S.C. §103(b))
Motion for Dismissal documents (click to view)
Interviews after the Dismissal Hearing, January, 2000.
Left to right: Brian Barnard (Utah Lighthouse Ministry lawyer), Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Berne Broadbent (Intellectual Reserve Inc. lawyer).
- January 5, 2000 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“Web Links at Issue in LDS Lawsuit,” (p. B1) - January 3, 2000 — News Release on upcoming Dismissal Hearing
- December 30, 1999 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“Critics File Appeal,” (p. E2) - December 24, 1999 — Notice of Appeal (of Preliminary Injunction)
- December 23, 1999 — Salt Lake City Weekly article
“LDS Copyright Battle Storms Web” - December 14, 1999 — Computer User (Newsbytes) article
“Bad Day for ‘Doctrine of Fair Use’” - December 13, 1999 — CNN.com article
“Copyright ruling targets Web links”- (Same story appears at PC World.com: “Copyright Ruling Targets Web Links”)
- December 13, 1999 — About.com article
“Illegal Links: Utah Case Demonstrates Need for Rethinking ’Net IP Law” - December 13, 1999 — Computerworld.com article
“Judge bars group from posting URLs for Mormon handbook” - December 12, 1999 — Sandra Tanner’s Statement for the Utah Lighthouse Ministry
- December 10, 1999 — IDG.net News Service article
“Copyright ruling targets Web links” - December 10, 1999 — TIME Online article
“Better Be Careful Whose Links You Click”- [Note: Story incorrectly reports that we linked to other sites with the CHI. Only URLs were posted, not links.]
- December 10, 1999 — About.com article
“The End of Linking?” - December 10, 1999 — New York Times article
“Copyright Decision Threatens Freedom to Link” - December 7, 1999 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“Web Offerings Curbed,” (p. C2) - December 6, 1999 — Preliminary Injunction
Preliminary Injunction documents (click to view)
Brian Barnard and Sandra Tanner being interviewed following the Preliminary Injunction hearing, December, 1999, in front of the Federal Court House, Salt Lake City.
- November 24, 1999 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“Critics Plead For Web Freedom,” (p. C2) - November 20, 1999 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“Restraining Order Upheld In LDS Handbook Case,” (p. D8) - November 16, 1999 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“Couple Want LDS Suit Dismissed,” (p. B2) - November 11, 1999 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“Ministry’s Restraint Order Expanded,” (p. C2) - November 6, 1999 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“LDS Church Asks Judge to Hold Critics in Contempt,” (p. D2)
- October 30, 1999 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“With LDS Book on Net, Lawsuit Might Be Moot,” (p. D1) - October 28, 1999 — Filed legal response to Restraining Order
Legal response to Restraining Order (click to view)
- October 21, 1999 — The Daily Utah Chronicle opinion editorial
“LDS Church Should Set Members Free” - October 19, 1999 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“Critics Can’t Distribute LDS Book on Internet,” (p. B1) - October 15, 1999 — Salt Lake Tribune article
“Web Site Prompts Mormon Church to Sue Critics,” (p. A1) - October 13, 1999 (11:00 a.m.) — Received Intellectual Reserve Inc., letter.
Intellectual Reserve Inc. legal letter (click to view)
Removed material under dispute (1:00 p.m.); added scanned I.R.I. letter (above) to our website, and contacted lawyer.
- July 15, 1999 — Added to Online Resources section of our website:
How to Remove Your Name from the LDS Records- Church Handbook of Instructions: excerpts from Name Removal
- Church Handbook of Instructions: Chapter 10—Church Discipline
Public Responses
While this lawsuit was gaining more exposure and notoriety (as a potentially precedent-setting case), many people wrote to us (both in support and in derision), and we began publishing their feedback on our website. To peruse this collection of letters and e-mails from 1999-2000, see our archive page:
