31 March 2017 | Jared Wright
The General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists has sued a small Florida-based company, Pathfinder Shirts, LLC, over what the General Conference says is unauthorized use of the Adventist Church’s trademarks. The General Conference is not seeking monetary damages but seeks to stop Pathfinder Shirts from selling products emblazoned with church logos.
The company’s co-owners, Michael and Karen Lillard, represented by legal firm Watson LLP, have argued that the lawsuit has unfairly singled them out. They further have asserted that the church has failed to self-police its trademarks to such an extent that the marks have lost trademark significance. They filed a counterclaim alleging damages resulting from being barred from attending Pathfinder events and have sought damages from the General Conference.
Converts to Adventism
The Lillards, former Presbyterians, converted to the Seventh-day Adventist faith as a result of Bible studies in the 1980s. They became members in 1982 and got involved in church-related programs, including Pathfinders. They began making Pathfinder items for the club their children attended and soon other churches asked, “Can you do this for us, too?”
They owned a clothing store, Tropic Tees, and sold Pathfinders items on the side, but interest in their Pathfinders-related clothing grew. The Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists recommended the Lillards’ services to fledgling Pathfinders clubs and extended them invitations to attend Pathfinders camporees.
The business grew in the late 1980s to include other ministries of the local conference—women’s and men’s ministries, prison ministries, and more. They became Florida Conference’s go-to supplier for clothing and Pathfinder honors and patches. All the while, the Lillards held numerous positions in their local congregation: deacons and elders, Sabbath School teachers, church treasurer, Pathfinders staff, Adventurers directors, music ministry directors, and more. They became members of Adventist Layman’s Services and Industries (ASI), and Karen served on the Florida Conference Executive Committee and the Florida Pathfinders Counsel. In addition to integration with the Florida Conference, Michael Lillard says they received encouragement from Norman Middag, who in the 80s and 90s was youth director for the Florida Conference and went on to start AdventSource.
By the early 90s, the Lillards sold church-related paraphernalia exclusively. They owned Manna Tees Witness Wear, a business with the tagline “Man does not live by bread alone but by every shirt printed with the word of God.” It was literally true; the shirt printing business was and remains their livelihood. They attended and operated vendor booths at General Conference Sessions. They attended North American Division Youth Ministries events and division-wide camporees. Wherever they went, they networked with Pathfinder clubs in needs of pins, patches, clothing, and other items. And everywhere they went, there were many other vendors selling Pathfinder items, they observed.
The Internet provided a platform for expanding their business and selling to Pathfinder clubs outside of North America. They started selling items online through the Pathfindershirts.com website. The Inter-American Division with its growing Adventist membership became a significant portion of the Lillard’s business.
