Pope Asserts Ownership and Control of His Copyright and Brand

We applaud the Pope for standing up to protect his copyright. We know how much aggravation the Pope must feel when he sees others using his intellectual property without attribution, or worse, infringing on his brand.

And yet, we see this no-context-mode of a blanket declaration by the Vatican, without reference to any specific violations that provoked it, to be inviting humorous responses. And so we begin by saying, we hold the truth to be self-evident that the Pope was endowed with certain unalienable copyrights...

Holy See declares unique copyright on Papal figure
Vatican City, Dec 19, 2009 / 12:23 pm (CNA).- The Vatican made a declaration on the protection of the figure of the Pope on Saturday morning. The statement seeks to establish and safeguard the name, image and any symbols of the Pope as being expressly for official use of the Holy See unless otherwise authorized.

The statement cited a "great increase of affection and esteem for the person of the Holy Father" in recent years as contributing to a desire to use the Pontiff's name for all manner of educational and cultural institutions, civic groups and foundations.

Due to this demand, the Vatican has felt it necessary to declare that "it alone has the right to ensure the respect due to the Successors of Peter, and therefore, to protect the figure and personal identity of the Pope from the unauthorized use of his name and/or the papal coat of arms for ends and activities which have little or nothing to do with the Catholic Church."

The declaration alludes to attempts to use ecclesiastical or pontifical symbols and logos to "attribute credibility and authority to initiatives" as another reason to establish their “copyright” on the Holy Father's name, picture and coat of arms.

"Consequently, the use of anything referring directly to the person or office of the Supreme Pontiff... and/or the use of the title 'Pontifical,' must receive previous and express authorization from the Holy See," concluded the message released to the press.

Hat tip to Sarx