Tyler Perry has won a long trademark battle for What Would Jesus Do, defeating a reality television series star who sought to use the trademark for a Christian reality show.

Kim “Poprah” Kearney, who acquired some fame after appearing on VH1’s reality series I Want to Work for Diddy, filed a trademark to use What Would Jesus Do for a Christian reality show in January 2008.

Tyler Perry Studios filed an entertainment services trademark for What Would Jesus Do in May of that year, in an attempt to secure the rights to use the phrase for entertainment products including films, musicals and television series.

Kearney claims that she floated the idea for the Christian reality show to Perry’s team months before his studio filed its application for the What Would Jesus Do trademark.

The studio’s legal team argued that Kearney had no intention of using What Would Jesus Do as she initially claimed in her trademark application. Because the studio sought to cancel her trademark, it had to provide the burden of proof, and argued that the trademark was not being used for more than a dozen reasons including that Kearney has not produced a television show in connection with the trademark and that her website for the show has a nonfunctioning email address.

Cancellation of the trademark is now pending after the trademark office granted its cancellation on non-use grounds on 20 June (pdf).

The Hollywood Reporter’s Eriq Gardner said that because the non-use argument was used to cancel the trademark, Perry is somewhat obligated to use it for business.

“If Tyler Perry does something with What Would Jesus Do – and as illustrated here, he's under some onus to actually use it in commerce lest he also abandon the mark – this is the back-story behind it,” Gardner said.

Perry’s trademark clarifies that no claim in its trademark is made to use “Jesus” exclusively. The phrase was popularised in the United States in the 1990s, appearing on bracelets and T-shirts.