Science Friday host and Sciencefriday Inc. c.e.o. Ira Flatow is suing Colorado pastor Bob Enyart for trademark infringement and cypersquatting. (Photo: Sciencefriday.com)
The company behind NPR’s Science Friday show is suing a Colorado preacher and radio host for trademark infringement and cybersquatting with his radio show that debunks evolution, Real Science Friday.
The lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of New York by Manhattan-based Sciencefriday Inc., the company behind the weekly program heard on more than 300 NPR stations. The complaint names Real Science Friday co-hosts Robert A. Enyart and Fred Williams, as well as the company Bob Enyart Inc.
News of the lawsuit was first reported in the New York Post.
Real Science Friday promotes creationism and focuses on science that shows “evidence for the creator God including from biology, geology, astronomy, and physics.” The lawsuit alleges that the show’s companion website, www.realsciencefriday.com, violates the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act by attempting to misdirect web users who are looking for the companion website to NPR’s Science Friday show to Enyart’s main website www.kgov.com.
Sciencefriday Inc., is asking for a permanent injunction, at least $100,000 in punitive damages and transfer of ownership of the www.realsciencefriday.com website domain. According to New York state tax records, Sciencefriday’s c.e.o. is Science Friday host Ira Flatow.
Sciencefriday Inc. has owned the trademark on the name Science Friday since 2004 and on the logo since December 2011, according to court documents.
Enyart’s website mentions NPR’s show: “Don’t Be Fooled by NPR’s parody titled Science Friday ;) Welcome to the REAL Science Friday with co-hosts Fred Williams and Bob Enyart who talk about science to debunk evolution . . . .”
Real Science Friday host Bob Enyart.
Enyart, who gained notoriety in 1999 for buying $16,000 worth of O.J. Simpson memorabilia only to burn it, has taken on various causes to promote the religious right’s political positions: He’s currently backing a “Dump Starbucks Campaign” over the company’s support of same-sex marriage. According to the Science Friday lawsuit, Enyart has regularly introduced himself as “America’s right-wing, religious fanatic, homophobic, anti-choice talk show host.”
Filing of the lawsuit has not as yet affected operations of realsciencefriday.com, but Enyart acknowledged the legal challenge and provided a statement for his fans on kgov.com.
“As always, please pray for our outreach as we present to a hurting world the evidence that God created and loves us!”
Read the full complaint here:
Yeah since I would bet that if someone had a show that was called “Science-fiction Fridays” Ira would sue them to… I don’t listen to Ira’s show much but I do hear it somedays while driving, only station I can get, and every time (6) the show hasn’t been about science but science fiction. They spent hours talking about teleportation.
Real Science Fridays only talks about Science and the newest Scientific finds. Things that naturally support their perspective of reality. Obviously Ira can’t defeat him in the market place of free ideas so he wants to stomp on him and use secular courts to help silence his perspective.
Science Fridays is little science and all politics. Today the discussed the Obama care law and didn’t have any opposing view as to why it is a bad idea. That generally is the case with NPR only one view and when they do claim to have a different view it is just a straw man that they make up and tear down.
Science Fridays has not been hurt financially in any way they just can’t compete.