A COURSE IN MIRACLES
Copyright challenge

"Copyright reflects far more than economic interests. Embedded within conflicts over royalties and infringement are cultural values - about access, ownership, free speech, race, class, and democracy - which influence how rights are determined and enforced. Questions of legitimacy - of what constitutes "intellectual property" or "fair use," and of how to locate a precise moment of cultural creation - have become enormously complicated in recent years, as advances in technology have exponentially increased the speed of cultural reproduction and dissemination." Publisher of Copyrights and Copywrongs, Siva Vaidhyanathan

"There’s a war going on over the state of copyright law in this country, but it’s a war whose battles are largely being fought covertly. On the occasions when the conflicts are made public, they have not been recognized for what they signify. What has gone mostly unseen and unremarked upon is the effort by industries who benefit from copyright law to shift the balance of the law forever in their favor, and away from the public interest that, according to Article I of the U.S. Constitution, is supposed to be the beneficiary of copyrights. (The Constitution expressly says that copyright and patent laws are designed "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.)" Mike Godwin

"The Digital Millenium Copyright Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1998, updates copyright law for electronic commerce and electronic content providers. Unfortunately, this law is very poorly written, and is now regularly used by corporations to restrain the three primary concessions of copyright and otherwise prevent free speech activity." From anti-dmca.org

   In 1999, Dr. Kenneth Wapnick, head of FACIM began using the awesome power of The DMCA to restrict the "fair use" of A Course in Miracles. In a draconian assault on free speech and First amendment religious rights, numerous Miracles Web sites and newsgroups were shut down. The Foundation's attorneys threatened many Course students with lawsuits and sued others.  Robert Perry's scholarly book was denied publication because it exceeded The Foundation's arbitrary "Fair Use" Guidelines. At the time, many Course students were surprised at this unprovoked  assault on liberty. Even more startling, under DMCA all of this was apparently "legal."  Few realized that a cultural war-- indeed, a spiritual war -- had begun, pitting the the rights to royalties and control of ideas against democratic cultural values of access, ownership, free speech, and class. In the case of A Course in Miracles, spiritual and religious values weighed into the mix. In short order, the Miracles Community was denied fair access and fair use of its own spiritual writings.

   These draconian actions are obviously unconstitutional if undertaken by government, but under DMCA these actions are legal if committed by corporations. Herein lies the controversy and the struggle to maintain civil rights.  Moreover, if in the future fair use of information is criminalized, we will live in a de facto dictatorship.

  Those involved in the "fair use" struggle with Ken Wapnick and FACIM, already know this.

   Below is a list of links to sites discussing the DMCA, Fair Use and continued access to copyrighted materials. Learn what can be, and is being done to shape the future of Fair Use. When one learns the facts, The Course in Miracles Copyright Challenge is not an isolated controversy. Rather it is part of a world-wide struggle maintaining civil and human rights against corporate proprietary interests.

=============

• Statutes
• Judicial Opinions
• Regulations
• Treaties and Conventions

Locating Copyright in The First Amendment Skein

by Neil W. Netanel

Freedom Forum

The First Amendment Center works to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and education. The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, the right to assemble and petition the government.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

"The DMCA is being used to silence researchers, computer scientists and critics.  Corporations are using it against the public. People are in Jail." 

http://anti-dmca.org/

Free Dmitry

http://freesklyarov.org/

The "Washington-based Becket Fund [is] a law practice devoted to the defense of religious liberty the way the ACLU is devoted to the defense of the Bill of Rights." William Raspberry, Washington Post, September 5, 1994

• Freedom of religion is a basic human right that no government may lawfully deny.
• Religious expression — from all traditions — is a natural part of life in civilized society, and religious arguments, on all sides of a question, are a normal and healthy element in public debate.
• Religious people and institutions are entitled to participate in government affairs on an equal basis with everyone else, and should not be excluded for professing their faith.

The Official
Urantia Foundation
Truth Site

Everything you ever wanted to know about Urantia Foundation, but were afraid to ask.

A religious site dedicated to religious freedom, "unceasing exposure" (53.5.6, Urantia Papers) of Urantia Foundation's sophistries, and resistance to Urantia Foundation's religious tyranny and persecution against believers of the Urantia Revelation.

(Strangely DEJA VU For ACIM readers.  Read about their copyright battle)

Scientology appears to use copyright, trademarks and "trade secret" laws to control dissenters, critics and apostates.

Click here to enter the twilight world of religious paranoia merged with Gestapo police state retribution.

Hilarious site devoted to Scientology lawyer, Helena Kobrin.  In the service of Scientology, she has sent repeated e-mails threatening dozens of netizens with legal action (here's just one example), attempted to eradicate alt.religion.scientology and even threatened legal action against the whole newsgroup!

Any one threatened with lawsuit by FACIM, will enjoy the witty, spirited and sometimes obscene responses to her legal threats.

http://www.demon.co.uk/castle/helena/