The following letter has recently
been sent, and continues to be sent, to students and teachers
of "A Course In Miracles"(c) who maintain Web sites
or Internet discussion groups related to the Course. We are sending
this letter to you, now, not only because of your extensive involvement
with the Course and those associated with it, but so that you
will have first hand information about what has been said. We
would emphasize that the Foundation is not interested in censorship
or limiting scholarship and discussion and does want to work
directly with individuals who are simply asked to contact the
Foundation via conventional mail, Fax or phone. Such a step seems
to us to be a common sense act of courtesy on the part of those
who wish to exercise publication privileges related to the Course.
(Note the explanation of our services at the end of this message).
Again, we emphasize that the Foundation is interested in cooperating
with students and teachers of the Course, and respects differing
interpretations as well as the interest in discussion of Course
principles from various points of view. There is no effort to
censor opinons or restrict scholarship and discussion, but the
Foundation does have an interest in people honestly, and with
humility, representing their opinions and interpretations as
their own and not necessarily official versions of
the truth, and in seeing that the integrity of the Course itself
is not undermined by separating out segments of it to the exclusion
of others, widespread selective quoting, or attempts to reinterpret
the Course through derivative works. We think that there may
have been some misunderstanding about when copyright, trade and
service mark restrictions apply. It needs to be clear that people
are not being asked to request permission to use the title of
the Course or its acronym in the process of discussion, nor is
there any restriction on quoting brief sections of the Course
in the context of a discussion. The most grievous violations
to which the Foundation must attend are those involved in publishing
large sections of the Course, such as all of the first 50 Workbook
lessons, representing them as a complete, short term path to
enlightenment; or publishing the entire Text on the Web; or publishing
the fifty miracle principles alone and without permission. These
are only a few examples of some of the gross copyright violations
that have occurred. Of course, all of this concern about the
Foundation and the copyright easily serves the ego in providing
a distraction from the very personal nature of one's spiritual
growth in removing the blocks to the awareness of love so that
forgiveness might be manifested in one's life as a seeming individual,
and eventually, the transcendence of that individual identity.
Following is the letter we referred to:
----------------------
Dear Fellow Students and Teachers of "A Course In Miracels"(c),
With the recent transfer of the copyright and service marks from
the
Foundation for Inner Peace to its sister organization, the Foundation
for A Course in Miracles(r) and with the ever-widening exposure
of the
Course on the Web and Internet, we thought it appropriate to
encourage
students of A Course in Miracles(c) to familiarize themselves
with the
Foundation's copyright, trade and service mark requirements,
to ensure
that their Web sites and Internet classes and discussion groups
are in
conformity with our guidelines. A more complete history along
with
clarification of the copyright, trade and service mark policies
can be
found on the Web sites for the Foundation for Inner Peace
(www.acim.org) and the Foundation for A Course in Miracles(r)(www.facim.org).
To briefly summarize, "A Course in Miracles"(r) is the registered service mark of the Foundation for A Course in Miracles(r) and cannot be used to designate or identify a Web site or Internet discussion group without the written permission of the Foundation. The following statement from our guidelines may be helpful in this regard:
To avoid confusion, the internationally
registered marks "A Course in
Miracles"(r) and "ACIM"(tm) cannot be used by
authors or others in titles of their written, audio, visual,
or electronic works, products, or activities and can only be
used and/or licensed for use at the discretion of the Foundation
for A Course in Miracles(r). In lieu of using the mark "A
Course in Miracles"(r) as a title or subtitle, it is suggested
that a term such as "miracles studies" be used as a
generic term or reference.
Further, the logo (a star over
the letters "ACIM") which appears on the cover of A
Course in Miracles(c) is a registered trade mark and cannot be
reproduced on Web sites without permission from the Foundation
for A Course in Miracles(r).
The Web and Internet should not be used to publish sections or
lessons
from A Course in Miracles(c). Brief quotes from the Course, when
properly acknowledged and referenced, can be appropriately used
in discussion. Furthermore, where explanations of A Course in
Miracles(c) are presented and discussed, it should be made clear
at the very beginning that statements reflect the interpretations
and opinions of the author, and are not endorsed by the copyright
holder. If explanations of A Course in Miracles(c) are taken
from the Course
material itself, they should be appropriately referenced and
acknowledged.
Requests for copyright and service mark permission must be submitted
in writing to: Director of Publications, Foundation for A Course
in
Miracles(r), 1275 Tennanah Road, Roscoe, NY 12776, or by fax
to (607) 498-5325. Please note that requests directed to our
sister
organization, the Foundation for Inner Peace, will be forwarded
to us for review. Therefore, to have your request be more quickly
processed, it should be sent directly to us.
In closing, we should like to quote from a statement previously
found on the Web site of the Foundation for Inner Peace:
". . . it is also important for everyone to understand that
the
Foundation's copyright guidelines are not designed to censor
discussion, education, debate, criticism, or scholarship. Rather,
the
guidelines are designed to safeguard the integrity of the Course
within the traditional copyright and trademark laws to ensure
that it is not plagiarized, abridged or rewritten, and that its
name is not exploited, falsely portrayed or misrepresented."
It is our intention to work cooperatively with all students and
teachers of A Course in Miracles(c) to ensure that the copyright
and
service mark guidelines are respected, as well as to support
the
efforts of all of us to learn, practice, and exemplify the Course's
principles of forgiveness.
Sincerely,
The Foundation for A Course in Miracles(r)
-----------transmitted via acim_correspondent-------------------
acim_correspondent is a volunteer agency providing Internet and
Web services for the Foundation for A Course In Miracles(r).
The Foundation is not accessible by e-mail. This volunteer service
is primarily for transmitting information from the Foundation
to students and teachers of ACIM(tm). The Foundation is directly
accessible by phone (607-498-4116), FAX (607-498-5325) or conventional
mail: 1275 Tennanah Lake Rd, Roscoe, NY 12776-5905. The Foundation
is eager to cooperate with you in resolving any copyright, trade
and service mark issues and you are encouraged to contact them
directly.
Dear Robert,
Thank you for your letter of
April 26, 1999. I apologize for the delay in
getting back to you.
I am sure that as a student
of A Course in Miracles you can appreciate the
importance of ensuring the integrity of its message and our decision
to
deny you permission to use the copyright, A Course in Miracles.
In responding to your letter,
I would prefer to not comment on your
assessment of the law with regard to the publication of your
manuscript,
except to state that under these circumstances I disagree with
you. I find
it necessary, moreover, to advise you that to the extent you
choose to
publish your manuscript, that the Foundation for A Course in
Miracles, as
owner of the copyright of the Course, intends to vigorously and
vigilantly
safeguard its rights with respect to protecting its legal interests.
We trust that this letter provides
the clarification that you requested
concerning your use of A Course in Miracles.
Peace,
Ken
Robert Perry
The Circle of Atonement, P.O. Box 4238, W. Sedona, AZ 86340
rperry@sedona.net
==================== 
****************************************************************
To Whom It May Concern:
This is the text of the letter
we at the Community Miracles Center received
from the Foundation from A Course In Miracles(r) on their official
letterhead.
****************************************************************
June 9, 1999
Tony Ponticello
Community Miracles Center
2269 Market St.
San Francisco, CA 94114
Dear Tony,
As you are no doubt aware,
the copyright and trade/service marks for A
Course In Miracles(r) have been transferred from the Foundation
for Inner Peace to the Foundation for A Course In Miracles(r).
It has come to our attention that all your newsletters, "Miracles Monthly"contain copyright and/or service mark infringements of A Course In Miracles(r)(c). These infringements include describing the CMC ministers as "A Course In Miracles Ministers(r)" and describing yourself as "A Course In Miracles(r) Minister-Counselor. Use of the Foundation's registered trademark in this fashion will likely cause confusion in that it may suggest that the Foundation has sponsored or otherwise endorsed your organization and its activities. As you may know, the Foundation does not view the Course(r) as a religion and while it conducts seminars to promote the study of the Course(r) we do not ordain or certify ministers or counselors. Futhermore, printing an abridged version of "The Choice for Completion" in the February, 1999 newsletter without prior permission violates the Foundation's copyright in A Course In Miracles(r).
Since you may have not been aware that these infringements existed, we are sending you a copy of the Foundation's copyright and trade/service mark policy for your information and ask that the violations be removed. If you have any specific questions concerning our policy, please do not hesitate to contact us. We thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Foundation for A Course In Miracles(r)
1275 Tennanah Lake Rd.
Roscoe, NY 12776
607-498-4116
****************************************************************
Love (Rev.) Tony
*********************************************************
Community Miracles Center * * * * * * (415)621-2556
2269 Market Street * * * * (toll free) (888)621-2556
San Francisco, CA 94114, USA * * (fax) (415)255-9322
E-MAIL: miracles@earthlink.net
"Become MIRACULOUS in the new millenium."
WEB: http://www.miracles-course.org
*********************************************************