Trademark suit against creationists settled

Science Friday

The suit against the operators of a right-wing radio show that features a creationist segment was settled in a federal court on December 28, 2012. As NCSE previously reported, in mid-November 2012, ScienceFriday Inc., which produces the NPR show Science Friday, filed suit against Bob Enyart — who describes himself as "America's most popular self-proclaimed right-wing religious fanatic homophobic anti-choice talk show host" — as well as his company Bob Enyart Inc. and his cohost Fred Williams of trademark infringement and cybersquatting. ScienceFriday was particularly concerned by the title of the creationist segment: Real Science Friday.

The suit was originally filed in a state court but was then transferred to a federal court in late November 2012. As the court was beginning to schedule oral hearings on ScienceFriday's request for a preliminary injunction to prevent Enyart's alleged infringement on its trademarks, however, the parties reached a settlement. On December 28, 2012, the court ordered the case to be dismissed with prejudice (so ScienceFriday cannot file suit again) but without costs. The settlement agreement was filed under seal, so its terms are not public. Significantly, however, the phrase "Real Science Friday" seems to have been scrubbed from the website for what is now called Real Science Radio.