Damn IHOP – Went for Pancakes and They’re Fasting!

September 16th, 2010. By AbiK

How the heck did that happen? I was told it was “IHOP”, and it’s a 24/7 operation, and they’re not serving pancakes. Hell, it gets worse—they’re FASTING!

Oh, my bad. Seems that this IHOP is not that IHOP. And, to be fair, I did not actually go to any IHOP.

Let me explain. First off, this IHOP is actually IHOP-KC—which stands for International House of Prayer – Kansas City. And well, it seems that the other IHOP—the one you all know that serves up pancakes with a portfolio of syrups on each table (and the never empty coffee pot™)—is a bit miffed that the Prayer IHOP is using its well-established acronym. So miffed that they’ve filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the religious organization. They want IHOP-KC to stop using the IHOP acronym.

By the way, while I included the above video from The Onion as it just seemed apropos, IHOP–the pancake IHOP–does operate some 24/7 locations, however, the decision to open 24/7 is left to the franchisees (in case you were wondering).

So I checked out IHOP further—the one with the prayer.

There’s lots of info online about IHOP-KC. Commentary about it ranges from pure devotion to accusations of its being a cult. I don’t care what folks think about it (though it does make me reflect on that Seagram’s Bronfman sister story), it doesn’t serve pancakes. And I’m not sure I’d confuse it with a place that does. Though I can understand the other IHOP’s desire to own their brand and its symbols.

For those of you wondering what IHOP-KC is all about, here are some of their own words about themselves:

The Lord has called us to be a community of believers committed to God, each other, and to establishing a 24/7 house of prayer in Kansas City—a perpetual solemn assembly gathering corporately to fast and pray in the spirit of the tabernacle of David.

[Note, I checked with Guinness World Records for the record for longest prayer session, and didn’t find any record. May this serve as my recommendation to IHOP-KC that they go for it! Lest you think I’m kidding, here’s the IHOP-KC prayer schedule.]

and..

At IHOP–KC, we are committed to prayer, fasting, the Great Commission, and to living as forerunners, preparing for the unique dynamics of the end times.

[I needed to refer to the IHOP-KC Glossary to better understand “forerunners”: forerunner. A person who goes ahead of the Lord and prepares people for His coming (Isa. 40:1–31; Lk. 1:76). John the Baptist and the prophet Isaiah are two biblical examples of the forerunner ministry. See also see John the Baptist.]

and also…

Our vision is to prepare thousands of full-time intercessory missionaries who, like John the Baptist, live a lifestyle of discipline and devotion to God.

Thousands!….You get the drift.

IHOP-KC also seems big on acronyms. So much so that they even have a tab on their website dedicated to sharing and defining them all. Eighteen in all at present. They also have that hefty Glossary.

I don’t care really what IHOP-KC is all about. I don’t really need to. I know they’re not IHOP…THE IHOP we all know, love, and heaven knows have spent a few early morning hours at after a night of carousing only to find ourselves years later with kids in tow hitting their later-morning fare. I’m sure IHOP–the food IHOP–will come out ahead on this one. But does it really need to?

Tags: IHOP, IHOP-KC, Trademark, Trademark Infringement

This was posted on Thursday, September 16th, 2010 at 11:11 am and is filed under Emerging Issues, Intellectual Property . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.