IHOP Drops Lawsuit Against Church

Glendale-based International House of Pancakes has decided to drop a trademark infringement lawsuit against a church with a San Gabriel Valley ministry and plans to settle the dispute out of court.

The pancake powerhouse withdrew its case against a church with a ministry in Pasadena, saying it will continue "ongoing mediation with the defendants," according to documents filed in federal court in Los Angeles. The church refers to itself as the International House of Prayer and set up a Web site with the address ihop.org. It is headquartered in Kansas City, MO, and has other California church affiliates in San Jose, Santa Maria and Dublin.

Customers at the , located on Devonshire Street, had difficulty deciding if the dispute warrants legal attention.

"That's difficult to choose a side because I'm a religious person and I wouldn't want the church to pay for legal fees that could go to better causes," said customer Angela Morton. "But I understand how IHOP could feel it's an infringement on their brand." 

Restaurant spokesman Patrick Lenow said the church's use of IHOP and related phrases confused customers, undermined trademarked uses and risked publicly linking the chain of 1,500 restaurants with a particular faith or church. IHOP filed the suit in September after the church ignored several requests to stop, he said.

The church never filed a response in court and is now expected to discuss the matter privately with the restaurant chain.