Steelroots a small UK Christian youth ministry has been threatened with legal action by a large US Christian media company – ‘The Inspiration Network Inc’
This is truly disgraceful.
David Walker of the Cartoon Church Blog alerted us on Twitter last night of the extraordinary case of a huge US Christian media company – The Inspiration Network Inc – issuing a heavy handed legal demand against a small Sheffield church youth group.
Their crime was to have the same name.
The Inspiration Network registered ‘Steelroots’ (a for-profit division) as a service mark in the US and Europe and own and control the steelroots.com domain.
The small Sheffield based youth group own and operate the steelroots.org.uk domain.
David has written on this case here.
This has also now been picked up by Canadian blogger – BeneD – and I urge you to hop over and have a read as there is some really good background info such as:
The Inspiration Network was bought by Morris Cerullo in the 1980′s from Jim Bakker for 7 million and was the former PTL Satellite network. The network headquarters in South Carolina is called The City of Light (really!). The City of Light (93 acres of promises from the prosperity gospel peddling organization) just isn’t coming together as promised.
Morris Cerullo’s son David Cerullo, who runs INSP, rakes in big bucks. The Steelroots division is run by David’s son Ben. According to Guidestar, Cerullo makes more than any other religious broadcaster in the US.
Bene D goes on to say:
The Cerullo’s network people could have written Sheffield without legal heavy-handedness, offered to help with transition costs, re-launch etc. But they didn’t.
An 80 million dollar a year network and music videos, versus a couple of church trusts. Kids sponsoring other kids in Tanzania, versus boy bands. We can’t be trusted to tell the difference between .com and .org., a website and a television network. Entertainment versus service. Too tough for me. It’s about the bottom line, can’t have a donation going to the wrong place now can we? There is a City of Light to build and a world-wide media dream to pursue.
Anyway read it all for yourself, it’s a good piece.
The steelroots.org.uk website now has this disclaimer:
The ministry formally known as Steelroots Youth Community.
If you are looking for the US TV Channel ‘steelroots’ a subsidary of INSP this is not it! It can be found at….
And on Twitter:
Right guys and girls. We have to change our name. Pronto. What shall we call ourselves??
Bless them!
This is a disgraceful case of unChristian bullying and is all about the cash and nothing else.
Shame on them!
Tags: Christianity, Law Moral Ethical, Media
October 23rd, 2010 at 12:48 pm
[...] you heard about the Steelroots saga? If not check out our post here. While the eChurch goes a little deeper, giving a little bit more detail about the tale of the American Bully Boys. If you want a lesson [...]
October 23rd, 2010 at 1:51 pm
[...] eChurch blog has the latest, including a link to our friend Bene Diction, who has written a good piece about this. [...]
October 23rd, 2010 at 11:24 pm
I have a feeling that a query to the US organisation might be interesting. Why not write to them and ask — politely — why they are doing this? If they have a good reason, it might be interesting to hear it; and if they do not and spout PR-crap, then we may draw our own conclusions.
October 24th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
I agree with Roger. To my understanding, we have yet to see an article/ blog about the background information on this case. We do not know how long this has been going on for. If anybody has any evidence coming from INSP’s point of view, I would like to see it. Otherwise, it is foolish to take a viewpoint when only one angle has been exposed.
Also, I have noticed that most accusations against INSP have been directed toward Morris Cerrullo and his son David. If this concerns Steelroots, shouldn’t they be the ones addressed?
This article is well written but I do not understand is why both parties have not been represented in these accusations?
If there are further resources available, I would like to see them.
October 25th, 2010 at 4:12 am
@ Roger Pearse: The letter sent by Inspiration Networks to the people in Sheffield is quoted on the Bene Diction blog if you follow the link. It’s pretty blatant bullying – I don’t think further clarification is going to make it look any prettier. INSP wishes to avoid “consumer confusion”. Well, they would. Cos consumers are what INSP is all about.
As for the Cerullos – what can one say? I’d never heard of them or their network, but after only a brief Google I’d struggle to find anything nice. However it’s easy to locate a lot of factual criticism and news stories. These do not appear to be people one could respect, let alone follow. They own a slew of companies/organisations and the whole set-up is a family affair, with three generations involved.
British faith media refused to accept INSP advertising for a previous visit by Cerulla senior to the UK “after revelations of his fund-raising tactics scandalised mainstream evangelicals”.
Steelroots was founded by Ben Cerullo – Morris Cerullo’s grandson. Steel Roots Inc, INSP – and all the family’s enterprises – are on the Donor Alert list of Ministry Watch. The most recent salary given for David Cerullo is $1,658,977 in 2006. This is one of the few hard facts available – INSP and its components (of which Steel Roots is one) is far from transparent in its financial dealings, one of the reasons Ministry Watch warn potential donors. Thank God televangelism of this stamp hasn’t taken off in the UK.
I suspect that if Steelroots in Sheffield refused to back down they could effectively defend themselves in the British courts should INSP follow up on their threats. Spot of prayer and nerves of steel… I’m rooting for Sheffield.
October 25th, 2010 at 8:45 am
@Sophie: This doesn’t work for me. Lawyers’ letters are always horrible. And I wouldn’t hang a dog on what I could find about someone by means of a Google search, particularly someone hated by the mass media.
The accused deserves the right to speak.
October 25th, 2010 at 9:35 am
From all I’ve been able to find out about INSP it seems to be a sort of reverse Robin Hood organisation – It takes money from the poor to help the rich. Despicable!
October 25th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
@ Roger Pearse: I can’t work out where you’re coming from. Mass media? The Baptist Times? The C of E newspaper? Whereas INSP goes to 54 million US households… In this fight INSP is Goliath, no bones about it.
INSP is a 24 hour-a-day network available to more than 54 million U.S. households via cable and satellite television. INSP features a wide variety of different programming, including original and exclusive music and children’s programs. INSP is distributed to more than 2,400 cable systems representing 24 million subscribers and to DIRECTV’s more than 17 million subscribers via channel 364 and DISH Network’s more than 13 million subscribers via channel 259.
INSP declared assets of $76,221,000 in 2006. However this is only part of the story. The network’s lack of transparency and accountability have been raised repeatedly by independent bodies. What is known is that the Corello family are among the highest paid televangelists in the US, owning personal property of over $100 million.
In 1999, the Christian Channel, a UK cable channel, broadcast an advertisement for one of Cerullo senior’s European rallies which claimed that “Satanic hordes” had “occupied the principal palaces of power.” As a result, the channel was fined £20,000 for breaching advertising codes requiring political impartiality, for denigrating other religious beliefs, for potentially frightening viewers, and for making statements prejudicial of “respect for human dignity”.
Ministry Watch “provides information on organizations alleging to be charitable and its key leadership in order to identify materially misleading behavior, or wasteful spending practices, as well as identifying those operations that are above board and running efficiently. The objective is to limit consequences of scams and prevention of fraudulent activity…”
There are only 30 names on its Donor Alert list. I have often wondered who it was that falls for these scuzzy televangelists. Now I guess I know.
October 25th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
As a result of which Christian Channel Europe (AKA The God Channel) moved out of UK jurisdiction so it could do pretty much what it wanted as long as it does not do anything overtly anti catholic (its licensed in Spain).
I used to deal with trade mark issues in my job and a lot of this is just fishing by Americans. best to just avoid cease and desist letters if they have no real basis and let them get a court order at their expense.
October 25th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Actually, in the USA “revivalism” and therefore its cousin televangelism is part of the fabric of their culture.
The composer John Adams did a piece about it using the jumbled up words of a radio preacher showing that it was the cadence of the voice which was attractive rather than the message, which might actually be nonsense. I recently made this video to go with it:
October 25th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
@ Gordon: Ooh… Very sneaky. I’m impressed. Definitely demonstrates your point.
October 25th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
We all know the background information on INSP and the Cerullo’s. Does anyone know the background information on this Steelroots case and how it pertains currently? The only thing we have is a cease and desist letter from INSP Lawyers, which cannot be viewed in the same light as a ministry, because attorneys are not hired to think like the ministry. I want to know why Steelroots Sheffield is taking the innocent lamb approach, when they could have ignored previous petitions from INSP, and AS A RESULT are being forced with legal action. My point is this, that letter was posted publically by a member of Steelroots Youth Community. They gave no other information on the case, and let us all make assumptions of “The Vicious Wolf” when Steelroots TV is just a fraction of INSP, and may not even be aware of this situation. We do not know this particular case, and it is hard to draw conclusions when not even Steelroots Youth Community is speaking on their own behalf. If anybody has any information from either Steelroots parties directly, it might shed some new light on the situation. Would you all agree? (aside from the commentors that are convinced that lawyers letters speak for both the Steelroots team and the lives that are changed through their programming)
October 25th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
I used to deal with trade mark issues relating to the internet and this is standard practice by big companies. I remember Ebay sending a cease and desist letter to the owners of http://www.poolebay.net for breaching Ebay’s trade mark registration in their domain name.
This is how business is done in the USA and this “ministry” is a family business.
October 25th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Here is another case I was involved in:
http://www.chillingeffects.org/udrp/notice.cgi?NoticeID=368
Note that INSP only has a trademark in the US and not in the UK so they have no chance of enforcing it here.
October 26th, 2010 at 7:13 am
Storm in a teacup by a lot of small minded silly billies After all Whats in a name?
October 26th, 2010 at 7:52 am
A lot of money Dennis! Not here, but in the US. Its a business trying to defend a trade mark, but they never bothered to register it here so they would have no chance of success in the courts.
October 26th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
@Sophie: “I can’t work out where you’re coming from.”
I’m trying not to jump to conclusions based on one side of the story. “Do as you would be done by” and all that.
October 29th, 2010 at 10:51 am
@ Roger Pearse: I perfectly understand the idea of not jumping to conclusions. What I find difficult to grasp is why you feel unable to draw conclusions in the face of what any of us can find out about INSP’s record.
Ministry Watch makes the very good point that those who give to charity have a responsibility to ascertain whether their money is being used efficiently and/or as intended. The site advises “Be prudent by acting with knowledge when giving your money as a steward, and do not be foolish with what God has entrusted to you.” Every penny given to a dodgy charity is a donation lost to a worthy one.
INSP has such a poor financial record that Christians are being actively advised to steer clear.
Keeping open mind is a good thing, but credulity is not. We need to keep our eyes, as well as our minds, open.