« Marchands du temple. Et nous passons allègrement des religions aux sectes ! L’Église de Scientologie est réputée pour faire un usage très agressif de la marque déposée sur son nom, notamment pour faire taire les critiques dont elle est souvent l’objet. Mais en Russie, cette utilisation de la propriété intellectuelle s’est retournée contre elle. En effet, la justice russe a ordonné la dissolution de l’Église de Scientologie dans le pays : elle a en effet considéré que puisque cette organisation avait déposé une marque de commerce sur son nom, elle devait être considérée comme une société commerciale et non comme une organisation religieuse, pouvant se prévaloir de la liberté de culte. »- Copyright Madness.
Moscow court bans Church of Scientology over ‘irreligious’ trademark restrictions — RT News
▻https://www.rt.com/news/323206-russia-church-scientology-banned
Moscow City Court has ordered the dissolution of the local branch of the Church of Scientology, ruling that religious freedom must not be restricted by trademarks. Scientologists vowed to appeal the alleged “anti-religious” abuse of their worshipers’ rights.
The Russian Ministry has argued that the since the term Scientology is registered as a US trademark, the Church cannot be considered a religious organization, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
“The representatives of the Church of Scientology themselves have created many legal conflicts by restricting the religious freedom through the use of trademarks,” the Ministry of Justice said. “So it turns out a commercial partnership was spreading the religion, while religion can only be spread by religions organizations,” the ministry said, adding that the organization should rather be regulated by consumer protection laws.
Now the Moscow branch of the Church of Scientology has six months to officially cease activity in the Russian capital under the court’s ruling. However, the organization plans to appeal the Moscow court’s ruling in High Court as it, they claim, violates the rights of its parishioners in Russia.
