Court says Opus Dei does not own its name

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 18 (UPI) -- A court in Denmark ruled game producer Mark Rees-Anderson could use the phrase "Opus Dei," despite objections from the Catholic Church.

The Catholic organization Opus Dei, which means "God's work," filed suit against Mark Rees-Anderson, producer of the game "Opus Dei – Existence After Religion," which is a philosophy-themed card game, the Copenhagen Post reported Monday.

The court ruled that the card game and the mission of the Opus Dei religious group were so different that it would do no harm to the organization.

The group had claimed it owned exclusive rights to the phrase in many country's, including countries of the European Union.

They claimed that Rees-Andersen must have known the phrase was connected to the church, because he had read the bestseller "The Da Vinci Code," by Dan Brown that featured the organization in the story.

But the defendant claimed, "Opus Dei is a common concept that no one can claim the rights to, just as you cannot demand exclusive rights to Jesus Christ, God or the Virgin Mary."

The court ruled for the defendant and ordered Opus Dei to pay Rees-Anderson about $8,000 to cover legal fees. The producer's attorneys said they believed Opus Dei's real intention was to bankrupt their client, the newspaper said.