ScienTOMogy

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ScienTOMogy

Screenshot of ScienTOMogy,November 11, 2005
Screenshot of ScienTOMogy,
November 11, 2005
Formation July 2005
Type Parody Web site
Location New Zealand
Official languages English

ScienTOMogy was a parody site lampooning Tom Cruise's involvement with Scientology, initially hosted at the domain name scientomogy.info. The site was created in 2005 after increased media publicity surrounding Cruise's appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Today Show.

ScienTOMogy gained press attention after it was contacted by the Church of Scientology with a cease and desist letter, alleging copyright infringement over use of the word "Scientomogy", claiming that it was too close to the word "Scientology". The proprietor of the site initially agreed to relent to the Church's demands, but after consulting attorneys, instead decided to keep the site. Internet traffic to the site later increased dramatically as a result of the media and press attention surrounding the Church of Scientology's alleged copyright infringement claims.

Contents

[edit] Development

The concept for the Web site was created by New Zealand webmaster Glen Stollery on a website called scientomogy.info in July 2005, after Tom Cruise appeared on The Today Show in an interview speaking about "the dangers of prescription drugs," and jumped the couch over his love for Katie Holmes during an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[1] The site's stated goal was "exposing Tom Cruise's moronic behavior in his relentless crusade to promote the Church of Scientology."[2]

The site was mainly used to store parody and satire material, including depictions of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in straight jackets, as well as a video showing Cruise shooting lightning at Oprah Winfrey.[3][1] To clarify its position as a parody site, ScienTOMogy contained a disclaimer, which it requested that the reader "understand and agree to..before continuing."[4] The site's disclaimer stated: "Obviously www.scienTOMogy.info has ABSOLUTELY NO connection whatsoever with the Church of Scientology, it’s [sic] affiliated organizations or, needless-to-say, Tom Cruise. It is designed for commentary and criticism within the limits of Free Speech. All content should be treated as opinion and all trademarks/copyrighted material herein are owned by their respective trademark owners. The Scientology site is here. Thank you. You may continue.."[4] On the site, a fake Tom Cruise claims that the Church of Scientology should refer to itself as "ScienTOMogy" instead of Scientology, in order to clear up public relations problems.[5] The parody version of Cruise states "It's kind of like the word gummy bears. Bears by themselves are scary, but if you just add the word gummy to it, it now becomes a fun, enjoyable treat."[5]

[edit] Church of Scientology's response

The Web site drew media attention when the Church of Scientology's attorneys Moxon & Kobrin contacted Stollery, claiming the ScienTOMogy domain name was an infringement of their trademark, despite being a different word by one letter.[6][4][7][8] In September 2005, the Church of Scientology issued a cease and desist order to Stollery demanding he shut down the site and transfer ownership to the Church, threatening him with a $100,000 lawsuit.[6] The Church's law firm stated that "ScienTOMogy" would cause a likelihood of confusion with "Scientology," violating the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1125(a).[6][9] The Church of Scientology's letter stated: "You are hereby on notice that the registration and use of this domain name in this fashion has caused your name to be falsely associated with our client’s registered mark, SCIENTOLOGY..The fact that you have changed one letter..does not protect you from trademark infringement."[4] Helena Kobrin, a lawyer for the Church of Scientology, was quoted as saying: "You can't use somebody's trademark, regardless of what you're saying, if you haven't been given permission."[1]

The site responded with a statement: "The site is purely satirical and is for entertainment. It contains no fact nor claims to do so. The site clearly states in its header, 'This site has absolutely no connection whatsoever with the Church of Scientology, it's affiliated organisations or, needless to say, Tom Cruise'."[10] Stollery originally relented and agreed to change the domain name to "passionofcruise.info" on October 13, 2005, which E! News took to be a parody of the film The Passion of the Christ.[11][1][12] After consulting lawyers in October 2005, Stollery responded once again to the Church, this time with a far more aggressive stance. Now believing the accusation to be completely frivolous, Stollery publicly refused, challenging the Church in a public statement with the words: "I'm keeping my domain, see you in court."[13] In an interview with ONE News, Stollery stated he was going to retain rights to "ScienTOMogy", and not transfer the URL to the Church of Scientology as they had requested.[1] After the media attention, Stollery began to receive "annoying calls" from local Scientologists.[14] Stollery commented: "The first few I was stupid enough to answer but now they just call and call and call. When I did speak to 'a church member here in Auckland' he kept insisting over and over that we meet to talk about my 'vendetta' with the church."[14]

[edit] Aftermath

The threats gave the Web site a cult following of its own, taking it from its normal traffic of one hundred hits per day to one million in a matter of hours.[15] The Wall Street Journal reported on the irony of the situation, also noting the site's message that the press exposure due to the threats from the Church of Scientology had increased its internet traffic over tenfold.[16]

Mel Gibson has not raised objections to use of the parody term "PassionofCruise".[1] E! News reported that though Stollery had originally agreed to take down the site, it was still running and accessible as of July 2006, when the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organization awarded Cruise rights to the domain name "TomCruise.com" over claims of a cybersquatter.[17] In addition to hosting the original cease and desist letter, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society also gives legal commentary on various issues pertaining to the "ScienTOMogy" controversy at a page provided by the organization Chilling Effects.[6] The page has a section discussing the legal term "trademark tarnishment", which it states may occur if a non-owner of a trademark uses the work in an "activity that is likely to offend the average person."[6] However, the page also notes that the tarnishment itself would be non-actionable if the usage was deemed to be for either non-commercial or parody purposes.[6] No reports of the Church of Scientology filing suit or opening litigation with regards to the term "Scientomogy" have since been reported, but at present the site scientomogy.info is inactive.[18] Internet Archive's Wayback Machine last version of the site is from July 8, 2007.[19]

[edit] See also

Internet Portal
Scientology Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Staff. "War of Words over Cruise Site", Yahoo! Entertainment, E! Online, Inc., October 19, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-11-01. 
  2. ^ Martelle, Scott. "Mock them using another name; Scientology lawyers order website devoted to ridiculing Cruise to stop using domain name scienTOMogy.info.", Los Angeles Times, October 19, 2005, pp. Calendar Desk; Part E; Pg. 10. 
  3. ^ Farrell, Nick. "Tom Cruise site shut by Scientologists: Too close to Holmes", The Inquirer, Incisive Media Investments Ltd. 2007, 21 October 2005. Retrieved on 2007-11-01. 
  4. ^ a b c d Walls, Jeannette. "Scientologists not amused by Cruise spoof", MSNBC, 2007 MSNBC.com, October 17, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-11-01. 
  5. ^ a b Dickison, Cynthia. "the dish; Science fiction", Star Tribune, Star Tribune Co., October 21, 2005, pp. Page 11F. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f Staff attorneys, Berkman Center for Internet & Society. "Scientology objects to "ScienTOMogy"", Chilling Effects. Retrieved on 2007-11-01. 
  7. ^ Staff. "Religion, The Donald And Yellow Teeth", The Daily News-Record, October 27, 2005. 
  8. ^ Staff. "Features: Show Buzz", Liverpool Echo, October 21, 2005, pp. Page 3. 
  9. ^ Spoof site faces religious lawsuit. TVNZ (2005-10-19). Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
  10. ^ Miller, Megan. "Cruising to hit site", MX (Melbourne, Australia), October 18, 2005, pp. Page 26. 
  11. ^ Staff. "Cruise parodist changes Web URL", UPI NewsTrack, United Press International, October 20, 2005. 
  12. ^ Staff. "UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News", United Press International, October 20, 2005. 
  13. ^ scienTOMogy.info. "ScienTOMogy Website Tells Church of Scientology "We're Keeping Our Domain. See You in Court"", PR.com, published Press Release, November 14, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-11-01. 
  14. ^ a b Staff. "The Fix: Cruisin' for a legal bruisin'", Salon, 2007 Salon Media Group, Inc., October 17, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-11-01. 
  15. ^ Meyers, Michelle. "Scientology spoof site has its own cult following", CNET News, CNET Networks, Inc., October 20, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-11-01. 
  16. ^ Staff. "Tony & Tacky: Risky Business", The Wall Street Journal, 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc., October 21, 2005. 
  17. ^ Hall, Sarah. "Tom Cruise in Dot Command", E! News, 2007 E! Entertainment Television, Inc., July 24, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-11-01. 
  18. ^ Staff. www.scientomogy.info, This page is parked free, courtesy of GoDaddy.com. GoDaddy.com. GoDaddy.com, Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-11-01.
  19. ^ Staff. "Search for http://www.scientomogy.info", Internet Archive Wayback Machine, Internet Archive, July 8, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-22. 

[edit] External links

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