Letter received by the Fellowship from Urantia Foundation, September 12, 2000
September 12, 2000
The Fellowship
Attention: The Fellowship’s Foundation Relations Committee
Avi Dogim, President
Steve Dreier, Secretary
Marvin Gawryn
Marilynn Kulieke
Dan Massey
529 West Wrightwood Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60614Dear Avi, Steve, Marvin, Marilynn, and Dan:
A smaller, lighter, less expensive book; more translations published; more translations in progress; the book on audio cassette tape; the book on CD-ROM; distribution of the book through large national and international distributors; generous gift book programs for libraries, prisons, and those unable to afford books both here and abroad; cooperation with the Fellowship regarding referral of new readers; liberal permission to quote policies; liberal policies permitting personal use of the marks; meetings with readers; the inclusion of two members of the Fellowship’s Executive Committee on the Foundation’s Board of Trustees -- these and other actions on the part of Urantia Foundation, we hoped, would help to unify and stabilize the community of readers of The Urantia Book in general and the Fellowship and Foundation’s relations in particular.
Notwithstanding that we see many IUA and Fellowship groups working together locally, we observe less progress toward unity by the Fellowship’s leaders. Specifically, the Fellowship’s Web site still contains numerous infringements of the Foundation’s copyright and marks in addition to a considerable and expanding quantity of “anti-Foundation information,” as a former member of the Fellowship’s Executive Committee recently put it. This latter fact is particularly disappointing given that the Trustees and a delegation of Fellowship representatives agreed on January 11, 1997, that the leaders and staffs of the two organizations would not speak disparagingly in public about the other organization and its leaders.
When the Fellowship put the English text of The Urantia Book on its Web site without the knowledge or consent of Urantia Foundation, we tried to work with you by offering the Fellowship a license. In response to the Fellowship’s continued infringements of the copyright and trademarks, Urantia Foundation has engaged in discussions with Fellowship officers for over three years in an effort to reach agreements which would render the Fellowship’s Web site legal and infringement free. Our desire has been to amicably address the copyright and trademark issues so that the Fellowship can continue its work without interfering with the duties entrusted to Urantia Foundation “to perpetually preserve inviolate the text of THE Urantia BOOK” and “to retain the absolute and unconditional control of … the printing and reproduction of THE Urantia BOOK and any translation thereof.” Whether or not you agree with the methods employed by the Trustees in carrying out this part of our trust, we request your respect and cooperation, as we endeavor to respect your efforts and to cooperate with you. After all, the Fellowship and the Foundation share common goals:
2.1. PRINCIPAL OBJECT [of Urantia Foundation]: The object for which this Foundation is created is the promotion, improvement, and expansion among the peoples of the world of the comprehension and understanding of Cosmology and the relation of the planet on which we live to the Universe, of the genesis and destiny of Man and his relation to God, and of the true teachings of Jesus Christ; and for the inculcation and encouragement of the realization and appreciation of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man--in order to increase and enhance the comfort, happiness, and well being of Man, as an individual and as a member of society, through the fostering of a religion, a philosophy, and a cosmology which are commensurate with Man's intellectual and cultural development. (Declaration of Trust Creating Urantia Foundation, Jan. 11, 1950.)
Of course, these goals were later incorporated into the Constitution of the Fellowship:
The purposes of THE FELLOWSHIP are the study and dissemination of the teachings of THE Urantia BOOK; the promotion, improvement, and expansion among the peoples of the world of the comprehension and understanding of Cosmology and the relation of the planet on which we live to the Universe, of the genesis and destiny of Man and his relation to God, and of the teachings of Jesus; and the inculcation and encouragement of the realization and appreciation of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man -- in order to increase and enhance the comfort, happiness, and well-being of Man, as an individual and as a member of society, by fostering a religion, a philosophy, and a cosmology which are commensurate with Man's intellectual and cultural development, through the medium of fraternal association, ever obedient and subservient to the laws of this country and of all countries wherein THE FELLOWSHIP may extend.
We respectfully request once again that the leadership of the Fellowship take positive action to correct the legal infringements that have repeatedly been discussed. You have had adequate time to respond to our requests and to those of the team that we appointed to work with you concerning these matters. We have been told that you have recently added some additional infringing material to your Web site. This is discouraging given the seriousness of this matter, given the delicate and sensitive nature of the relations between the Fellowship and the Foundation, and given the January 11, 1997, and October 3, 1997, Fellowship-Foundation agreements to be respectful and cooperative.
Regarding a meeting between the Board of Trustees and the Fellowship’s Foundation Relations Committee, we encourage such a meeting as a means to discuss matters of mutual interest and especially as a means to effect unification and stabilization of our young movement. As for our willingness to discuss legal issues with your committee, we feel more comfortable leaving that duty to our carefully chosen team comprised of Trustee Georges Michelson-Dupont; Seppo Kanerva, the international head of the IUA and the Manager of Translations; Tonia Baney, the Foundation’s Executive Director; Nancy Shaffer, a member of the Coordinating Committee and the Millennium Initiative Committee; and Steve Hill, an intellectual properties lawyer.
Avi, when you and Marvin met with Tonia, Georges, and Seppo in New York, you said that your negotiating team has been empowered to make decisions binding on the Fellowship. We hope that you choose, by October 1, to have a legal and infringement-free Web site. You and your team now have the power to make the decision to end trademark and copyright disputes between our organizations. Your decision could lay the groundwork and set the example for peace and cooperation in our young movement.
We reiterate that we would gladly meet with the Fellowship, but we would not want to do so without including our IUA brothers and sisters, whose organization, like yours, is so dedicated to the study and spread of the teachings of the Book. As Trustees, we are more concerned with publishing, translating, and protecting the text. To be productive, any meeting with a membership organization such as the Fellowship must include representatives from the organization that works interdependently with Urantia Foundation toward the goals set forth in the Declaration of Trust. We are sure you understand. For practical as well as political reasons, we must include representatives from IUA. Excluding them would be insensitive on our part, to say the least. If you feel more comfortable, you may want to expand your team to, say, ten persons.
Perhaps one day, there will be a unification of the membership organizations dedicated to the dissemination of the teachings. If this is the will of our Father, may we pray and strive for such a day.
Sincerely,
The Trustees of Urantia Foundation
Kwan Choi
Georges Michelson-Dupont
Gard Jameson
Richard Keeler
Morris J. Siegel