Correspondence related to Urantia Foundation's allegations of
website copyright and trademark infringements
1997 through August 2, 2000, including Michael Foundation issues
This collection consists entirely of documents which have previously been made available to the readership community in one form or another. They are put together here in chronological order so that the larger picture of current events may be seen in a fuller context. The outstanding component of this series of exchanges is the continual refusal of Urantia Foundation trustees to meet with members of the Fellowship's Executive Committee to personally discuss matters of conflict and mutual interest related to the Internet.
Compiled by David Kantor
Philosophic Justification:
The philosophic justification for Urantia Foundation's fear-based attempts to control the revelation was first set forth in Martin Myer's paper, "Unity, not Uniformity" which was published in July of 1973. Read "Unity, not Uniformity"
The positions set forth in the Myers document have recently been expanded by the positions presented by trustees Georges DuPont and Gard Jameson in their Helsinki speeches made in 1998:
Read Trustee Georges Dupont's Helsinki speech -- In this speech, trustee Georges DuPont draws a parallel between Jesus' twelve apostles and the trustees of Urantia Foundation.
Read Trustee Gard Jameson's Helsinki speech--"Our Responsibility to the Revelatory Commission" -- Trustee Gard Jameson indicates that Urantia Foundation was given instructions by the revelators to protect the copyright until it was "well rooted." However, there is neither known document nor oral tradition in which such a provision is indicated. Gard Jameson's speech sets forth the basic justification for Urantia Foundation retardation of all independent dissemination efforts.In addition, transcripts of tape recordings of trustee public presentations show Urantia Foundation's President and staff to be providing highly distorted versions of internal events to international audiences.
[Read sample tape transcript of Urantia Foundation presentation in South America]Background:
In 1990, shortly after the separation of Urantia Brotherhood and Urantia Foundation, representatives of Urantia Foundation met with former Urantia Brotherhood Society representatives in New York regarding the de-licensing of Urantia Brotherhood. The Brotherhood representatives put forth the suggestion that an attempt be made to put the disagreement before a conciliating commission. The Foundation responded that conciliation was only relevant to disputes between equals. According to the Foundation, since the Brotherhood was a wholly subservient creation of the Foundation, the concept of conciliation was irrelevant to the dispute. A Foundation trustee maintained that the Foundation was in effect a Sovereign Power in this dispute and that it would be inappropriate for the trustees to subject the direction of their enterprise to the whims of an external conciliating commission. (From a videotape of the meeting.)
Subsequently, there was no direct contact between the organizations for more than six years until October 26, 1996, when Trustee George DuPont indicated in a conversation with Steve Dreier that the Trustees would like to meet with a few members of the Executive Committee of the Fellowship. Subsequently a meeting was held at 533 Diversey Parkway on January 11, 1997. The meeting was reported by both groups to have been "cordial" and each organization expressed a desire to have further meetings. Certain agreements were made at this meeting related to better cooperation between the two organizations.
Urantia Foundation report of January 1997 meeting
Fellowship report of January 1997 meetingFor additional information on organizational communications preceeding and immediately following the 1989 separation, see:
Chronology of Invitations to the Trustees of Urantia Foundation to DialogChronology of relevant events shaping the present situation:
June 1997 -- Ninth District Court of Appeals returns copyright to Urantia Foundation following a period of time when it was in the public domain and during which a new edition of The Urantia Book was published by Uversa Press.
July 1997 -- Janet Farrington Graham elected President of the Fellowship on a platform based on seeking a cooperative relationship with Urantia Foundation. Janet immediately contacted the President of Urantia Foundation, Patricia Mundelius, and the two of them began plans for a meeting at which the Trustees and representatives from the Fellowship Executive Committee could negotiate a resolution to matters left outstanding as a result of the copyright matter.
October 3, 1997 -- Foundation and Fellowship officers meet. This meeting was held to negotiate business matters resulting from the Ninth Circuit restoration of the copyright to Urantia Foundation and the subsequent inability of the Fellowship to continue distribution of the Uversa Press edition of The Urantia Book. It was hoped that this meeting would set a precedent as a negotiating model which could be used to further reduce inter-organizational tensions, provide a basis for problem resolution and perhaps even pave the way for inter-organizational cooperation on dissemination projects of mutual interest. While all parties agreed to continue developing this mechanism at the October 3 meeting, the trustees have since refused to meet with the Fellowship to discuss current issues in spite of repeated formal requests from the Executive Committee and the Fellowship's President over a period of many months. This includes unanswered personal phone calls made by Fellowship President Janet Farrington Graham to Urantia Foundation President, Richard Keeler.
October 10, 1997 -- Fellowship and Foundation issue joint statement regarding cooperative efforts -- This is in related to the settlement meeting following return of the copyright to Urantia Foundation by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This document contains the terms of the agreement. Of significant import was the disposal of remaining books published by Uversa Press during the time the copyright was in the public domain.
October 15, 1997 -- A New Framework for Cooperation by Dan Massey -- This document contains a comprehensive licensing proposal presented by the Fellowship to the trustees which would assure their retention of copyrights while allowing the Fellowship to engage in licensed reproduction of the text in a variety of forms. The Fellowship never received a response from the trustees on this proposal.
October 17, 1997 -- Urantia Foundation issues subpoenas for financial records of independent readership organizations.
October 28, 1997 -- Urantia Foundation trustee Patricia Mundelius informs Fellowship president Janet Farrington that the subpoenas are being withdrawn due to community outrage over the incident.
December, 1997 -- Two trustees of Urantia Foundation resign.
December, 1997 -- Two members of Urantia Foundation's office staff resign.
January, 1998 -- Mo Siegel and Gard Jameson appointed Trustees of Urantia Foundation.
April 17, 1998 -- Joint Fellowship/IUA meeting held in Chicago -- President's Letter from Janet Farrington Graham
April, 1998 -- Dan Massey submits draft of General Public License for The Urantia Book -- submitted to trustees and their attorney for review and comment; no response was ever received.
September 8, 1998 -- Foundation Announces New Copyright, Internet and Trademark Usage Policies -- Contains a full copy of policies including their license to display the text on a website.
January 16, 1999 -- Urantia Foundation sends website license agreement to the Fellowship for approval
February 5, 1999 -- General Council sends Proposal for a New Organizational Framework to committee for implementation -- proposal by Marilynn Kulieke seeks better integration of readership organizations.
February 9, 1999 -- Fellowship sends letter accepting Foundation's website license agreement
March 14, 1999 -- Millennium Initiative report of first meeting
Spring 1999 -- Urantian News article about new Foundation website license
June 13, 1999 -- Recommendation statement from Millennium Initiative Committee
June 13, 1999 -- Fellowship Webmaster receives request from French IUA Webmaster for help in getting the French text on the web.
July 1999 -- Part IV published in a separate volume by Michael Foundation, Inc.
July 4, 1999 -- French edition of The Urantia Book published on Fellowship website.
July 6, 1999 -- Fellowship President responds to Millennium Initiative recommendation
July 24, 1999 -- Internal correspondence from leading Foundation supporters made clear the fact that what they viewed as "unity" was conditional upon the Fellowship's acceptance of the Trustee's program of copyright and trademark protection. One leader said, "Copyright and mark preservation are the tickets to unity." Another commented, "The Fellowship has to pledge itself to a policy of law-abiding and copyright preservation. The Fellowship has to dissociate itself from the illegal printing of Part IV as a separate volume. The Fellowship has to remove Mr. Harry McMullan from its treasurership, from the General Council, and from the Executive Committee. Unless The Fellowship is ready to give these pledges I see no chance for any working alliance between the IUA and The Fellowship. I say, no pledge -- no alliance."
August 3, 1999 -- Letter from Jacques Dupont -- claims moral right in French translation of The Uranita Book; seeks its removal from the Fellowship website on this basis.
August 7 -- Foundation support resolution introduced at IC99 Society Conclave by Paul Snider
[Read IUA administrator Cathy Jones' report]
[Read Society representative Robert Fontana's report]
[Read conclave co-chair Barbara Newsom's report to the General Council]August 18, 1999 -- Janet reports overwhelming Council support for Millennium Initiative recommendation -- She indicates her full willingness and the willingness of the organization to continue this work. There was never any further significant response from the IUA.
August 20, 1999 -- Foundation statement on unauthorized translations -- Urantia Foundation issues call to the international readership for a letter writing campaign against the Fellowship regarding Michael Foundation's publication of Part IV. This was in spite of the fact that the Fellowship had previously voted not to support the separate publication of Part IV.
August 30 -- President's Letter from Janet Farrington Graham
September 6, 1999 -- Fellowship response to Jacques Dupont letter of 8/3/99 -- Fellowship indicates that it is displaying the French text on its website per provisions of its license granted by Urantia Foundation.
October 12, 1999 -- Letter of Complaint from Trustees -- Urantia Foundation complains about "unauthorized translations" appearing on the Fellowship website, Dr. Sadler's study aids in which Urantia Foundation claims a copyright, hyperlink to Michael Foundation website, use of "The Urantia Book Fellowship" as constituting a trademark infringement. -- Suggest Friday, October 15, as a date to meet in Chicago to discuss these matters. (Date of letter is October 12).
October 28, 1999 -- Letter from Janet to Trustees -- Response to Trustees' letter of October 12; requests meeting with Trustees per their agreement of October 1997.
November 30, 1999 -- Urantia Foundation sues Michael Foundation, Inc. over publication of Part IV
December 1, 1999 -- Dan Massey letter to Millennium Initiative Committee -- He laments the pre-conditions set by Foundation supporters for a cooperative relationship between organizations -- urges acceptance of a workable basis upon which organizational interactions might evolve in a productive manner.
December 15, 1999 -- Letter from Trustees -- Trustees agree to meeting but request that the Fellowship remove the French and Spanish translations from the website as a "sign of good faith" prior to any meeting.
January 10, 2000 -- Response to Richard Keeler -- Janet requests clarification from Richard Keeler regarding Foundation requests related to translations -- she points out that the license agreement with the Foundation allows the Fellowship to display translations. Janet again requests a date for meeting with the trustees.
January 26, 2000 -- Registered letter from Georges Dupont -- regarding website infringements; these are based on restrictions appearing in the Foundation's newly revised license. This was the first we had heard about any "revised" website license. At this point we checked the Foundation website and found that their "website license" had indeed been revised (see next entry below). Georges wants the Executive Committee to meet at his office in Paris to discuss the infringements the weekend of February 19 or 26, with himself and several other unspecified individuals of his choosing. He encloses a copy of their new website license policy and points out that it does not allow the publication of translations.
January 26, 2000 -- Revised website license published on Foundation website -- The license was unilaterally revised by Urantia Foundation with no notice to licensees.
January 28, 2000 -- David Kantor circulates copy of letter to Illinois Attorney General requesting revocation of Foundation's Trust
Early February -- Website license removed from Urantia Foundation website and replaced with notice that it is under review.
February 17, 2000 -- Letter from Janet to Georges -- she is willing to meet in Paris if it will involve all five trustees. She indicates that the Fellowship believes the terms of the original license are binding on both parties. She makes the point in several places that we desire a meeting with the trustees to review this matter.
February 17, 2000 -- Letter from Georges Dupont -- letters crossed in the mail -- Georges wrote this without seeing the previous day's letter sent by the Fellowship. He indicates that two new alleged infringements are being added to his list. He suggests meeting with his team in mid-March in Chicago.
February 21, 2000 -- Another letter from Georges Dupont -- He says that he has been very explicit about meeting only with his selected team and not the trustees. He reiterates his demand that the Fellowship remove the French and Spanish translations from the website as a sign of good faith prior to the meeting.
February 24, 2000 -- Letter from Janet to Richard Keeler -- She appeals to Richard Keeler to intervene in a deteriorating situation in which Georges Dupont appears to be unilaterally pre-empting any meeting between the Executive Committee and the Trustees. Twice the Fellowship President appealed to the President of Urantia Foundation for assistance; she lists a number of items which are of concern to the Fellowship which should also be included in a meeting. She again asks for a meeting with the Trustees per their previous agreement to meet anytime there were issues needing attention. There was no reply except another letter from Georges Dupont.
March 5, 2000 -- Letter from Georges Dupont -- Defends himself against claims that he is not negotiating in good faith made in Janet's letter to Richard Keeler of February 24, 2000. He tells Janet that any matters related to copyright or trademark issues should be directed to him.
March 8, 2000 -- Letter from Steve Dreier to Georges -- Steve notifies him that he will be taking over the correspondence on this matter while Janet is on vacation.
March 13, 2000 -- Letter from Steve to Georges -- comments to Georges that we will meet with his committee but with the understanding that the Trustees will agree to meet with us at another time to review substantive issues.
April 7, 2000 -- Urantia Foundation revokes policy of offering website licenses -- Urantia Foundation indicates they want to have the only text on the Internet; anyone with a website wanting to use the text can provide links to the text on the Foundation's website.
April 8, 2000 - Fellowship meeting with Baney-Dupont committee. Members of the Fellowship group were given some 700 pages of material relating to Foundation complaints about perceived trademark, copyright, and license violations in the Fellowship website and publications. The Friday afternoon before this meeting, the Foundation issued a public announcement that it has now begun to claim the phrase "The Urantia Book" (in addition to the word "Urantia") as its trademark. This announcement included a policy statement prohibiting use of the phrase "The Urantia Book" as an identifying element in the names of organizations because of alleged trademark infringement. Among the Foundation's complaints were the following:
1.) Fellowship text is not "inviolate" -- i.e., it contains hyperlinked footnotes, commentary added to index, paragraph numbers, it is not identical to the version which the Foundation has on their website, etc.
2.) ASCII download version has no italics in the text.
3.) Spanish text contains three versions of the Foreword.
4.) Fellowship Herald magazine lacks appropriate copyright notices.
5.) Illustrated Urantia Book on website lacks permission and attribution.
6.) McMullan's "21 Steps" quotes over 25,000 words without permission.
7.) Website publishes McMullans "21 Steps" in multiple languages without permission.
8.) Fellowship is soliciting people to assist in translations in violation of international law.
9.) Website contains hyperlink to Michael Foundation Website, purveyor of an infringing work.
10.) Website contains material unsupportive of Urantia Foundation.
11.) The word "Urantianet" is used in some places without an appropriate disclaimer.
12.) Use of the word "Urantia" and "Urantian" infringe the Foundation's trademarks.
13.) Website contains phrases such as "Buy The Urantia Book" and contains price lists -- very confusing; it appears they are the source for The Urantia Book.
14.) Registered Internet domain names violate Foundation's trademark -- urantianet.org, urantiaweb.org, urantialink.org, librourantia.org, urantia-book.org.
15.) Fellowship is meta-tagging the words "Urantia," "Foundation," "International Association," "Urantia Book," "Libro de Urantia".
16.) Website is publishing documents in violation of the court's confidentiality order in the Maaherra case.
17.) Violation of Sadler copyright in "Mind at Mischief."
18.) Violation of Urantia Foundation's confidential business records -- publication of translator's contract.
19.) The name, "The Urantia Book Fellowship" infringes the Foundation's trademark.
20.) Downloadable versions of the text do not contain appropriate copyright notices.Webmaster's review of the Foundation's complaints (This was a personal review only and did not represent the views of the Fellowship or its officers.)
May 8, 2000 -- Fellowship's official response to Foundation's complaints
May 11, 2000 -- Dan Massey's Report to the General Councilors on the Foundation meeting
June 9, 2000 -- Nancy Shaeffer responds for Foundation to Fellowship's document of May 8, 2000
June 2000 -- Because of this situation the political tension between Urantia Foundation and The Urantia Book Fellowship is higher than it has been at any time since the separation of the two organizations in 1989. These matters will be a topic of discussion at the meeting of the Fellowship's General Council the first weekend in July.
Here is a partial list of changes made to the website as of June 15, 2000 in an effort to ease concerns of Urantia Foundation:
1.) Animated word "Urantia" removed from website (even though it contained a disclaimer stating that Urantia is the name of our planet.)
2.) Increased the number of locations containing statements that we are unaffiliated with Urantia Foundation.
3.) Multiple translations of the Spanish Foreword which are provided for comparative study purposes have been removed from the El Libro table of contents and placed in a section containing study aids.
4.) All concentric circles symbols contain a note that they represent the Paradise Trinity except for those appearing on reproductions of early historical correspondence which were created prior to Urantia Foundation's registration of the symbol as a trademark.
5.) All pages related to our Urantianet email newsletter contain disclaimers stating that we are unaffiliated with Urantia Foundation.
6.) The page which contains information on buying The Urantia Book has had a link to Urantia Foundation's website added.
7.) The title of the section containing "The Illustrated Urantia Book" has been changed to "Illustrations for The Urantia Book" and another copyright notice has been added.
8.) Partial translations have been moved to a new section of the website which requires registration of users and in the process of registration the user is asked to acknowledge the fact that copyrights exist in the material and that it is for educational purposes only. The rest of the website is currently being modified to support this change.
9.) All of the Dr. Sadler study aids, in which Urantia Foundation claims a copyright, have been removed from the website per their demand.
10.) The Home Page and key index pages all contain disclaimers that we are unaffiliated with Urantia Foundation.
11.) The copy of the Foundation's Translator's Contract has been removed from public view.
12.) Table of Contents pages for The Urantia Book on the website have been modified so that they don't contain the same sequence of Paper references as 'Jesus--A New Revelation.'
13.) Since Michael Foundation is no longer distributing 'Jesus--A New Revelation' the hyperlink to its website has been changed to indicate information related to the 'Index to The Urantia Book' which is also published by Michael Foundation, Inc.
14.) Copyright notices have been updated in all downloadable compressed files containing the text of The Urantia Book.July 2000 -- Fellowship's Triennial Delegate Assembly passes resolution directing the General Council to appoint a small committee to interface with Urantia Foundations' legal machinery so that the rest of the membership can be about the business of disseminating the revelation.
July 20, 2000 -- Executive summary of current situation, Response from Fellowship to Trustees
July 2000 -- Outgoing President Janet Farrington Graham's letter to the readership regarding current matters
Summer, 2000 Issue of The Mighty Messenger -- Article by L. Dan Massey: Thirteen New Trademarks Sought by Urantia Foundation
August 1, 2000 -- Another letter of complaint from Georges DuPont regarding alleged trademark infringements on the Fellowship website.
August 2, 2000 -- Michael Foundation files counterclaim in Federal court seeking declaratory judgment invalidating Urantia Foundation's trademark claims in the words "Urantia" and "Urantian."
August 2, 2000 -- Response to Georges DuPont
June 12, 2001 -- Trial scheduled for Oklahoma City in the Urantia Foundation vs. Michael Foundation case.
Trial news, Day 1Click here for continuation of this history
Various policy statements from Urantia Foundation's website:
Website License Policy
Permission to Quote for Labors of Love
Permission to Quote for Commercial Works
Permission to Quote for Educational Works
Personal use of "Urantia," "Urantian," etc.For additional information on organizational communications preceeding and immediately following the 1989 separation, see:
Chronology of Invitations to the Trustees of Urantia Foundation to Dialog
