© 2000 Georges Michelson-Dupont
© 2000 Urantia Foundation
© 2000 The Urantia Book Fellowship
A monthly News Bulletin from Urantia Foundation to IUA Officers, Foundation Office Managers, Coordinating Committee members, Foundation Representatives, Translators, and other readers for the purpose of disseminating this information to readers in local areas.
Three hundred and fifteen people from 23 countries attended the International Urantia Association’s biennial conference held August 4 through 7 at Wagner College on Staten Island, across from Manhattan. This included 41 young people, age 7 to 18, who came to share in the experience. The Urantia Association of Greater New York (UAGNY) and the Urantia Association of New England (UANE) co-sponsored the conference. Urantia Foundation provided support in the areas of logistics and finance. The conference afforded an excellent opportunity to conduct face-to-face business with readers from many lands. It also provided Foundation staff members a chance to personally interact with the many readers they communicate with by phone and email throughout the year. Prior to the conference, meetings were held for Urantia Foundation Representatives, the Trustees, the IUA Council of National Presidents, and the United States Urantia Association (USUA).
The following countries were represented at the conference: Lithuania, Estonia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, South Korea, Greece, France, The United Kingdom, Holland, Finland, Mexico, Senegal, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Indonesia, The United States, and Ecuador.
The Foundation Bookstore was a very active place between scheduled presentations. Several new merchandise items were successfully debuted and a limited edition cap (only 72 made) nearly sold out. All profits from the sale of the cap were donated to the youth scholarship fund. Sales of The Urantia Book in all languages and editions tallied well above expectations.
The conference was attended by all five Foundation Trustees and its Executive Director, Tonia Baney. They arrived several days in advance of the conference to engage in meetings which addressed the on-going legal matter with Harry McMullan, new foreign distribution negotiations, translation efforts, business decisions regarding Foundation Representatives, and proposals for new printings.
On the last day of the conference it was announced that the 2002 IUA international conference will be hosted by France. The Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre D’Urantia is eager to offer its hospitality to the worldwide readership. The conference will be held in Paris in August 2002.
It was also announced that next year’s USUA national conference will be hosted by the Zebedee Guild of Missouri and will be located at St. Mary College in Leavenworth, Kansas, just north of Kansas City and just west of the Missouri River which separates Missouri and Kansas at this location. The conference will be held from July 20 through July 23, 2001.
Prior to the commencement of the International Urantia Association Conference 2000 in New York, Urantia Foundation convened a meeting of its International Representatives and Office Managers. Representatives traveled many hours—and in some cases days—to come together to discuss our shared goals.
Our Indonesian Representative, who traveled over 30 hours to attend this meeting, commented on how wonderful it was to finally meet other readers of The Urantia Book. Representatives and Office Managers gathered from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, England, France, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Indonesia, Lithuania, Mexico, Senegal, South Korea, the United States, and Venezuela. Following the meeting Urantia Foundation Office Manager Mindy Williams said, “It was an incredible experience to work cooperatively with individuals from so many varied cultures and races.”
Staff and Trustees of Urantia Foundation updated the group on a variety of issues affecting their work, including IUA charter revisions, copyright and trademark policies, translation programs, website development, library placement and gift book programs, legal issues, and the development of a longtenn plan for Urantia Foundation. Foundation staff emphasized the importance of the representatives’ input via regular reports. These are used to advise the Trustees in facilitating the spread of the teachings of The Urantia Book with other cultures or countries and in developing distribution channels for the book so that it is available and affordable. Guidelines were provided to representatives to assist them in providing services to readers and to provide suggestions for working with libraries, bookshops, and distributors.
Some representatives are new while others have been working to disseminate the teachings for many years. Foundation staff and the more experienced representatives gladly offer assistance as new representatives get established. As we work—each in his or her respective sphere—we are united in a common goal. We believe effective and regular communication between trustees, staff, international office managers, and representatives is an important key to our success.
As reported in the last issue of Newsflash, Harry McMullan’s Michael Foundation, Inc. filed suit against Urantia Foundation in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on May 12, 2000. The suit requests the court to declare the copyright in The Urantia Book invalid or, alternatively, to rule that the publication entitled Jesus—A New Revelation, consisting of Papers 121-196 of The Urantia Book, does not infringe the copyright.
Urantia Foundation filed its response to the complaint on June 16 advising the court of the three prior cases where the copyright was contested and upheld by the courts, most recently in Urantia Foundation v. Maaherra.
Urantia Foundation requested the court to enter judgment in favor of Urantia Foundation against Hany McMullan III and Michael Foundation for willful violations of: copyright law, the anti-cybersquatting consumer protection act (for registering Internet domain names that violate Urantia Foundation’s trademark rights), and the unfair and deceptive trade practices act.
Harry McMullan III has now retained separate counsel for himself and for Michael Foundation. Michael Foundation has added additional claims requesting the court to invalidate Urantia Foundation’s trademark rights to “Urantia” and “Urantian.” Both have filed their responses to Urantia Foundation’s answer and counterclaim.
We are now entering the discovery phase of the proceedings during which time relevant documents will be exchanged and depositions conducted. As new developments occur we will keep you informed.
On July 7, 2000, the Fellowship’s Foundation Relations Committee, whose members are Avi Dogim, Marvin Gawryn, Marilynn Kulieke, Dan Massey, and David Kantor, sent a letter to Richard Keeler, President of Urantia Foundation and the other Trustees. Although Steve Dreier’s name appears on these letters, he is no longer a member of this committee and has been replaced by David Kantor.
On August I, 2000, Georges MichelsonDupont, Vice-President of Urantia Foundation and Chair of its Copyright and Trademark Team, responded to Avi Dogim, President of The Fellowship.
Following are copies of these two letters, exchanged in the ongoing correspondence between Urantia Foundation and the Fellowship.
Friday, July 7, 2000
Richard Keeler, President, Urantia Foundation
Trustees of Urantia Foundation
Dear Richard and Trustees,
This letter responds Urantia Foundation’s June 9, 2000 communication to Fellowship representatives over the signature of Urantia Foundation’s Copyright/Trademark Team. That letter raised a number of copyright, trademark, and license matters of concern to the Foundation. Aspects of these matters involving Fellowship policy were reviewed by The Fellowship’s General Council at its meeting of July 2-3, 2000.
The Fellowship’s General Council sincerely desires to maintain friendly and cooperative relations with Urantia Foundation. Accordingly, in.response to he Foundation’s June 9 letter, the Council mandated the formation of a committee empowered to address and, where possible, to resolve matters raised in the Foundation’s June 9 letter in a mutually satisfactory manner.
Since the Foundation’s June 9 letter raises complex issues of a legal nature, the Council further directed that legal counsel be retained to advise the Fellowship on those matters. This is expected to be accomplished very shortly, after which the Fellowship’s representatives will provide the Foundation with specific responses concerning the various matters discussed in the June 9 letter.
As noted in your June 9 letter, the Fellowship has already made various adjustments to its website in response to complaints raised by Urantia Foundation. We have made changes not noted in your letter and are continuing technical efforts to accommodate your concerns. These actions should be taken as a sign of the Fellowship’s good faith intentions towards Urantia Foundation in seeking to acceptably resolve the concerns which exist between the two organizations. After the Fellowship has consulted legal counsel, it is expected that further substantial and lasting progress will be made in these matters.
The Fellowship has repeatedly requested a meeting with the five Trustees of Urantia Foundation concerning these and other matters. Our understanding has always been that the Trustees would arrange such a meeting consequent upon the Fellowship’s sending certain individuals to meet with the Foundation’s Copyright/Trademark Team in Chicago on April 8-9, 2000. The June 9 letter from that team states: “Your report again mentions a meeting with the Trustees. As we have explained on a number of occasions, this group cannot respond to that request. Please contact Richard Keeler about a meeting with the Trustees.”
Accordingly, this letter is addressed to Richard Keeler, President of Urantia Foundation, and to the other Trustees, with copies to the Foundation’s Copyright/frademark Team. Once again, we respectfully request a meeting with the Trustees of Urantia Foundation in the conviction that such a meeting will provide the best circumstances for the resolution of outstanding differences between the Fellowship and Foundation, and set the stage for lasting peaceful and cooperative relations between the two organizations.
Sincerely,
The Fellowship’s Foundation Relations Committee
Avi Dogim
Steve Dreier
Marvin Gawryn
Marilynn Kulieke
Dan Massey
Cc: Urantia Foundation Copyright/Trademark Team
Tonia Baney
Steve Hill
Seppo Kanerva
Georges Michelson-Dupont
Nancy Shaffer
August 1, 2000
Via email and Certified Mail
Return Receipt Requested
Avi Dogim, President
The Fellowship
529 West Wrightwood Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614
Dear Mr. Dogim,
On July 7, 2000, you, as President of the Fellowship, sent a letter to Richard Keeler, President ofUrantia Foundation, responding to the June 9 letter sent to you by Urantia Foundation’s Copyright and Trademark Team. The Trustees ofUrantia Foundation have referred your letter to me, as chair of the Copyright and Trademark Team. Mr. Keeler will respond to the matters in your letter unrelated to copyright and trademark.
The Foundation’s concerns about certain materials displayed on the Fellowship’s website started several years ago when, without the knowledge of Urantia Foundation, the Fellowship put the English text of The Urantia Book on its website. About the same time, and also without Urantia Foundation’s knowledge, the Fellowship began displaying the French, Spanish, and other translations on its website. At some point, it also began to display the trademarks of Urantia Foundation, without pennission or proper attribution.
In order to protect Urantia Foundation’s rights and to support the Fellowship’s outreach efforts, the Foundation offered the Fellowship a license, which was rejected.
After numerous discussions between Trustee Mo Siegel and Janet Farrington, then President of the Fellowship, Ms. Farrington indicated that the Fellowship would accept the terms of the license offered by Urantia Foundation but preferred to characterize this as an “agreement” rather than a “license.” Subsequently, David Kantor, a member of the Fellowship’s Executive Committee and its Web Master, repudiated any license agreement with Urantia Foundation, although Mrs. Farrington finally took the position that there was a license.
Since the Fellowship notified Urantia Foundation that it accepted the conditions for a license, the Fellowship’s website has not fully met these conditions.
For example, the English text displayed on the Fellowship’s website is not Urantia Foundation’s text. Also, the Foundation did not license the Fellowship to display translations on its website, notwithstanding that the Fellowship’s website displays all or part of several translations. In addition, the Fellowship was not licensed to use Urantia Foundation’s trademarks, and the marks are displayed on the Fellowship’s website without proper attribution.
Over the past several years the number of infringements on the Fellowship’s website has increased. The Foundation and the Copyright and Trademark Team have patiently worked with Fellowship representatives to render the Fellowship’s website fully legal and infringement free. In October 1999, in a letter from Urantia Foundation, the Fellowship was asked to remove the infringing material from its website. In response, the Fellowship wrote to Urantia Foundation, saying that it wanted a meeting with the Trustees. The Trustees felt the discussions between Janet Farrington and Mo Siegel (which lasted from October I998 to June 1999) had been less than successful, so the Trustees decided to appoint a committee, headed by a Trustee, to deal with this matter. The Copyright and Trademark Team is that committee.
The Trustees mandated our committee to make a list of the infringements on the Fellowship’s website and to request that the infringing material be removed. The Trustees asked that we personally meet with representatives of the Fellowship to discuss the infringements. We met in early April. In accordance with the Trustee’s instructions, we asked the Fellowship to remove the infringing material from its website within 30 days. During those 30 days, some of the infringing material was removed. We then received a report from the Fellowship that left most of the important issues unresolved. We wrote back on June 9, asking once again that the infringing material be removed from the Fellowship’s website. We requested that this be done by July 7. Recent visits to the Fellowship’s website indicate that progress toward removing infringing material has at least slowed, has probably stopped, and appears to have regressed.
Your July 7, 2000 letter was not sent to our team but to the President of Urantia Foundation. You wrote that the Fellowship’s General Council “mandated the formation of a committee empowered to address” these issues and “directed that legal counsel be retained to advise the Fellowship.”
The Foundation’s Copyright and Trademark Team is authorized by the Trustees to handle communications pertaining to the infringements on the Fellowship’s website. We once again respectfully request that all of the infringing material on the Fellowship’s website be removed. Please do so by October I, 2000. This is the third time our team has made this request.
Your letter suggests that you wish to discuss these issues further. Our team would be glad to meet with you. We should reserve a date now so as to allow time for the complete removal of the infringing material not later than October 1. For your information, all the members of our team will be in New York in early August.
If the Fellowship chooses to retain the infringing material on its website after October 1, our team will make an appropriate recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
If you have questions, please call or e-mail me.
Sincerely,
Georges Michelson-Dupont
Vice-President of Urantia Foundation Chair of Copyright and Trademark Team
The Trustees of Urantia Foundation have traveled extensively over the past 10 years meeting with readers for input and to exchange ideas. These efforts to remain in touch with the readership continue. During the month of June 2000, Richard Keeler, Tonia Baney, and Cathy Jones traveled to eight North American cities to meet with readers about Urantia Foundation’s past accomplishments, its current efforts, and its plans for the future as outlined in the Matthew Project. They were joined by Trustees Gard Jameson and Mo Siegel, Foundation staff, and Matthew Project Task Force members at various stops along the way. The Task Force members included Bill and Sharron Beasley, Dorothy Elder, Tom and Carolyn Kendall, Nancy Shaffer, Mary Snider, and Bryan Snowden.
Meetings were held in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; League City, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; Portland, Oregon; and Vancouver, British Columbia. Local groups or individuals in each area hosted the meetings. We received a warm welcome and enjoyed the opportunity to exchange ideas with so many interested readers around the country.
We learned from this experience that, in addition to International Urantia Association members, there are many unaffiliated readers who are genuinely interested in what the Foundation is doing, and their response to the visit was positive.
Six-month book sales figures show that Urantia Foundation is selling more copies of The Urantia Book than ever before. In June of 1999, the Foundation had sold 9,650 copies of the book. This year by June 15,910 copies had been sold. If this trend continues, we can look forward to the largest annual sales of The Urantia Book in its 45-year history.