The church filed the suit after alleging Dehlin refused to implement sufficient changes to resolve public confusion, even after altering his logo's colors and light rays.
Mason noted the timing of the litigation remains unusual, given the podcast name had not been an overt issue for years.
Dehlin and his organization filed a legal response refusing to back down.
The podcaster accused the institution of weaponizing intellectual property laws to suppress his platform.
“The LDS church does not own the word ‘Mormon,’ and it should not be allowed to use intellectual property law to control how people discuss Mormon culture, history, doctrine, or lived experience,” Dehlin stated.
Dehlin was excommunicated in 2015 for disputing church doctrines regarding the divinity of Jesus Christ and labeling sacred books as fictional works.
The counter-claim argues that the word belongs to the general public and over 400 separate sects tracing their history to founder Joseph Smith.
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“No single church owns the rights to the words Christian, Catholic, Jewish, or Muslim,” Dehlin's response stated.
