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A
Timeline
1958
|
 Helen
Schucman, Ph.D., a clinical and research psychologist, accepts a position
as Associate Professor of Medical Psychology at the College of Physicians
and Surgeons, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City under
William Thetford, PhD. When she met Bill for the first time, although she
did not know why, she had the thought: "So this is the man I am
supposed to help."
William Thetford, Ph.D., is Director of the Psychology Department
at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and tenured Professor of
Medical Psychology, Columbia University's College of Physicians and
Surgeons.
Dr.
Thetford becomes Helen’s trusted friend and colleague, and assisted Dr.
Schucman throughout the Course's scribing, including the events that led
up to it. He not only acted as transcriber throughout the entire process
by typing the material from the scribed notes that Dr. Schucman had taken
down but was a tremendous psychological support to Helen as she struggled
with her feelings of imposition and her basic mistrust of the process.
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Spring
1965
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In
the spring of 1965, just before setting out for a difficult departmental
meeting, Bill makes an impassioned speech to Helen in which he says,
"There must be another way. Our attitudes are so negative that we
cannot work anything out." To Bill's surprise, Helen agrees, without
reservation, to help him find "another way."
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Summer
1965
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A
dramatic progression of waking dreams for Schucman ensues, culminating
with her experiencing a Voice which speaks clearly in her mind. The Voice,
which Helen references with a capital “V”, explains to her the visions
she has been receiving.
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October
1965
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One
day in October 1965, Helen heard the Voice say: "This is a course in
miracles; please take notes."
With
Thetford's support and assistance in transcribing her shorthand notes,
Schucman takes down, over several years, some 1,500 typewritten pages
which becomes A Course in Miracles.
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1969
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A
lengthy process of retyping the Course begins.
Bill Thetford is adamant that no changes be made other than
correcting the typing errors and removing specifically personal material.
Jesus designates Bill to be the one in charge of all changes. At least one
copy is given to Fr. Benedict Groeshel, CFR, (Also known as “Father
Michael”), a graduate student of Helen and Bill’s.
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Spring
1972
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Dictation
of the third volume, Manual for Teachers, begins.
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September
1972
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The
retyping of the text is completed. The transcribing of the third and final
volume, the Manual for Teachers, is completed.
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Fall
1972
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In
the months following the completion of A Course in Miracles in 1972, at
least four people are given allegedly unrestricted copies: Cal Thatcher, a
close friend of Helen’s; Fr. Benedict Groeshel, CFR, student of
Helen’s; Hugh Lynn Cayce, son of psychic Edgar Cayce and Kenneth
Wapnick, a clinical psychologist, who had recently converted to
Catholicism and is informed of Bill and Helen through Father Groeshel.
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November
1972
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Helen
and Bill meet Ken Wapnick for the first time . He leaves shortly afterward
for Israel to spend some quiet time before entering the monastery.
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May
1973
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Ken
Wapnick returns from Israel, meets with Helen and asks to see Helen’s
manuscript.
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Fall
1973
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Ken
requests permission from Helen to re-edit the Course.
During
the editing: 25% of the first 5 chapters is deleted; paragraphs are
rearranged; chapter and section titles, previously inserted by Bill and
Helen during their re-typing, are changed; punctuation is changed;
CAPITALIZATION, previously included for emphasis, is changed to lower case
and, in only a few cases, replaced with italics.
The 53 miracle principles are changed to 50. Descriptions of the miracle
principles are re-arranged and in some cases obtained from other areas of
the text. 127 references to “Soul” are changed to 12. The word
“Soul” is either deleted or changed to another word such as:
creations, you, spirit.
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Spring
1975
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Helen,
Bill and Ken meet Judy Skutch, president of the Foundation for Parasensory
Investigation, during a meeting which has been previously arranged to
discuss holistic healing. Judy is shown the newly revised “Course in
Miracles”.
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Summer
1975
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Judy Skutch receives permission from Helen and Bill to share copies of the
Course with close friends. Judy gives copies to several close friends,
among them are Jerry Jampolsky and Jim Bolen.
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Fall
1975
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The
Foundation for Parasensory Investigation changes its name to the
Foundation for Inner Peace.
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September
1975
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Criswell
Edition is printed and distributed.
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October
1975
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Application
for a copyright is made. FIP intends to register the copyright with
“Jesus” as the author. When informed that a copyright could not
legally be granted to a non-physical author, FIP does not list the name of
Jesus, but instead lists “Anonymous (Helen Schucman)”.
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December
1975
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Copyright
is granted.
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June
1976
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First
Edition abridgment is printed.
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February
1981.
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Helen
Schucman dies in New York City.
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1985
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Second
Edition is published.
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1987
|
 In
the 1987 Video, produced by the FIP, promoting and describing the
Course, Ken Wapnick says on camera:
"One of the things I was most impressed with about the course was
that Jesus was the author of it. I just could not believe that
anyone else could have written it. It was very clear to me that Helen
could not have written it and I just could not imagine it having any
other source than Jesus himself."
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1987
|
 In
"How it Came", a 1987 video produced by FIP Judith Skutch
relates:
"At this point it seemed clear that I had to study this document and
while studying it, I shared it with a lot of people. I made many trips to
California and while I was there I told a whole community of people I
worked with the story of the Course. Naturally they all wanted to see
copies. I was kept busy running off Xerox copies and at $.05 a copy of a
1000 page document, it was very expensive."
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September
1991
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FIP
gave permission to author Marianne Williamson on September 10, 1991 to use
1,000 “Fair Use” words.
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March
1992
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 .
FIP/FACIM
sends a letter of complaint, March 3, 1992 to author Marianne Williamson,
asking for royalties. Marianne agrees to pay 4% royalty fee for both English and
foreign translations of her book, “A Return to Love”
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December
1992
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FACIM
explains, in their “Lighthouse”
newsletter, why the Course was copyrighted and why they are enforcing the
copyright so stridently. They admit they were forced to disavow Jesus as
the author in order to obtain the copyright.
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November
1993
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FIP
registered a trademark/service mark for “A Course in Miracles” and a
trademark for the initials “ACIM”.
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September
1994
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Compuserve
is forced by FACIM attorneys to close “Course in Miracles” Forum on
Compuserve (CIS) due to trademark
violation.
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December
1994
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Jesus
(Rajpur) speaks out on Copyright
interpretation.
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December
1995
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Publishing
agreement between FIP and Viking Penguin , A Division of Penguin Books
USA, Inc., is reached.
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March
1996
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Penguin
pays the Foundation for Inner Peace a royalty advancement of $3 million
dollars for exclusive use of the copyright.
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April
1996
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New
Christian Church of Full Endeavor (Church)
receives a cease and desist letter from Penguin. Endeavor
Academy-Penguin Letter 1
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June
1996
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Penguin
Books USA, with the approval of President Judy Skutch-Whitson of the
Foundation (FIP) and Kenneth Wapnick, Executive Committee member, brought
a copyright infringement lawsuit against the New Christian Church of Full
Endeavor (Church) , its ministerial teaching arm, alleging violations of
the copyright on “A Course in Miracles”. The lawsuit asked for over 1
Million Dollars in damages. The copyright was allegedly owned by the
Foundation for Inner Peace, Inc. and licensed to Penguin Books USA.
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June
1996
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Church
answered the Complaint, claiming among other things, that since,
- the
Author of A Course in Miracles is Jesus (identified as such by the
scribe, Helen Schucman, by the Foundation to the world, and by himself
in the Course specifically to you), and since
- the
United States Copyright Office says that words from a Divine Being
cannot be copyrighted and Jesus is a Divine Being; and, applying the
facts of this case to their statutes, rules and regulations,
- Church
asserts the copyright has been invalid from the beginning (Void ab
Initio).
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September
1996
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Penguin’s
first amended complaint, filed September 17, 1996: (excerpt)
"Copyright
in A Course In Miracles”
8. The author of the Book is Helen Schucman. The Book consists of three
parts: (i) the "Text", (ii) the "Workbook for
Students" and (iii) the "Manual for Teachers."
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January
1997
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In
an Order
dated January 22, 1997, Judge Sweet of the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York denies Church’s Motion to Dismiss for lack
of standing, improper venue and failure to join a necessary party on the
grounds that the Church could not continue to represent itself PRO SE and
for Church to obtain Counsel and, at such time, Church had "leave to
renew at such time as counsel is secured."
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January
1998
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Robert
Perry, Circle of Atonement (COA), submits a manuscript to FIP/FACIM.
Robert intended this manuscript to be his “major statement to date about
A Course in Miracles. I had a literary agent who felt there was a good
possibility of having it published by a major New York publisher, although
the agent made it clear that he couldn't represent me without official
permission to quote from the Course.”
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May
1998
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FIP
joins in Penguin suit against Church as a second co-plaintiff and an
additional trademark damages of 4 Million Dollars is claimed. The new
complaint makes no mention of authorship, as plaintiffs assert only that
FIP is sole “proprietor” of the copyright.
In
this Second Complaint, Church is charged with three additional counts of
Trademark infringement for its use of the Foundation's trademarks, "A
Course In Miracles" and "ACIM". The amended Complaint
alleges that the Foundation has caused "irreparable injury" by
such use; that Church is attempting to "pass off its writings as if
authorized by the Foundation; that Church's publications are "falsely
designated as originating from or connected with the Foundation"; and
that they "tarnished" and "blurred the identifying function
of the marks". The new Complaint requests total monetary damages of
$4 million plus treble damages; attorney's fees, etc.
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September
1998
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As
of September 1998 and, following New York State approval *effective
February 1999*, the Foundation transfers its copyright and trademarks in A
Course in Miracles to the Foundation for ‘A Course in Miracles’ (FACIM).
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November
1998
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FIP
moves the Court for a "Protective Order" limiting the manner
and method by which Endeavor is permitted access to certain
"Confidential Documents", including the original manuscripts and
transcriptions of A Course In Miracles, as sought in Church's Request to
the Foundation for Production of Documents.
The Court holds that Church would be permitted access to such
"Confidential" documents in New York City, rather than Roscoe,
N.Y., with the Foundation to bear Church's travel and lodging costs while
in New York to inspect the documents.
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March
1999
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In Judy
Skutch’s sworn deposition (pg 51), Judy disavows co-authorship of
the December 1992 “Lighthouse”
article, co-authored with Ken Wapnick, in which they claim the Copyright
Office told them they couldn’t copyright a “divinely authored”
document.
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March
1999
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In
Ken
Wapnick's sworn deposition (pg 54), Ken claims “it’s another
Jesus”.
Q:
Are we talking about the biblical Jesus or is there a different Jesus that
we may be talking about?
A:
It was a different Jesus.
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March
1999
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Over
a year later, after the copyright was transferred to FACIM, Robert Perry
is denied permission to publish his book, with no explanation.
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April
1999
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When asked for an explanation, Ken Wapnick writes in a letter
to COA,
"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."
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April
1999
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“Anonymous
Correspondent Service” begins when an Anonymous person starts to
send warning letters via email to hundreds of groups and individuals,
ranging from operators of internet mailing lists to Unity Churches. The
letters threaten legal repercussions if the infringement activity does not
cease.
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June 1999
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Robert
Perry and Allen Watson appeal for an open discussion of the questions
Robert has raised in his open
letter to Ken Wapnick
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July
1999
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Ken
responds to Robert Perry:
"In conclusion, Robert and Allen, while you are certainly entitled
to your mischaracterizations, misrepresentations, and use of
misinformation - both in form and content - that hardly makes them valid,
nor does it justify your making them public.
Peace,
Ken."
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July
1999
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FIP
files its Third Amended Complaint, adding as an additional plaintiff, The
Foundation for ‘A Course in Miracles’ (FACIM).
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July
1999
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 The
Circle of Atonement (COA) receives a cease
and desist letter from FACIM's lawyers, demanding that they stop
distributing most of their materials. Efforts to dialogue with Ken Wapnick
publicly and to discuss the matter with him privately failed. Ken asked
that the COA stop exchanging letters.
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August
1999
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Circle
of Atonement files a legal
complaint for declaratory relief against FACIM and the FIP, the
current and original copyright holders for A Course in Miracles, and also
Penguin Books, the publisher of A Course in Miracles. Perry's motion did
NOT call for the cancellation of the Course copyright and trademarks.
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September
1999
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FIP
and FACIM answer complaint. Deny the idea that the Course contains the
words of Jesus, is a divine revelation, or is a modern day scripture.
Helen Schucman is described as the author of the Course, not its scribe,
and Jesus is not mentioned as having a role in the origin of the Course.
In a
counterclaim, the FIP/FACIM cites 52 infringing works published by COA,
and asks for damages ranging from $1 million to $5 million.
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November
1999
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December
1999
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FACIM
files a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Copyright only).
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January
2000
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A
copy of the text portion of the manuscript is obtained from the library of
the Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) in Virginia Beach,
VA sometime previous to this month. An Electronic copy of the 1972 edition
of text portion of the Course in Miracles, located in the A.R.E. library,
appears on the internet in January, 2000.
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February
2000
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Mission
Statement:
"The Course in Miracles Society (CIMS) is an international group of
Course students and teachers organized to discover, authenticate and
propagate the divine teachings of A Course in Miracles. As students, we
seek to increase our knowledge of Jesus' words and to deepen our
experience of his teaching. As teachers we work to circulate the message
of A Course throughout the world by our words, by our deeds and by the
example of our lives."
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February
2000
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Church
files a Cross-motion for Summary Judgment (copyright and Trademark) on
February 3, 2000
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March
2000
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Course
in Miracles Society (CIMS) publishes the text portion of the 1972
edition of the Course in Miracles, obtained from the internet,
titled “Jesus’ Course in Miracles”, along with a side-by-side
comparison (also obtained from the internet) between this early
edition and the current 2nd edition.
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April
2000
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Negotiated
settlement between COA and FIP/FACIM takes place in San Francisco on
April 24 and April 25, 2000.
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April
2000
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April
3, 2000, CIMS files a declaratory
judgment action for a declaration of invalidity, non-infringement and
unenforceability of the ACIM copyright, against FIP/FACIM in the U.S.
District Court of Nebraska.
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April
2000
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April
7, 2000, FIP/FACIM obtained a Temporay
Restraining Order restraining CIMS “from directly or indirectly
infringing any of the copyrights in A Course in Miracles (or any version
or portion thereof), in any manner, including, without limitation, by
printing, creating electronic versions of, posting copies on the Internet,
otherwise reproducing, creating derivative works (including translations),
displaying, manufacturing, printing, reprinting, publishing, vending,
taking orders, distributing, gifting, transferring, selling, licensing,
promoting, advertising, or otherwise exploiting any infringing copies of A
Course in Miracles (or any version or portion thereof), or by causing or
participating in any such acts”.
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April
2000
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On
April 13, 2000, oral arguments are heard before Judge Sweet on FACIM’s
motion for partial summary judgment and on Church's Cross-motion for
summary judgment.
All
papers filed, with Church submitting 11 volumes of extensive exhibits and
3 volumes of supporting Affidavits submitted by the Church. Judge Sweet
allowed Church's NY attorney, Lawrence Fabian to speak first, and Larry
covers 3 major points in Church's Motion for Summary Judgment:
1) Fraud - [in failing to reveal to the Copyright Office the Jesus was the
author]
2) Copyright estoppel - [in representing Jesus as author for 25 years
before changing the author to Helen Schucman for the purpose of the
litigation] and
3) Publishing [distributing copies of the Course] without copyright notice
prior to filing for copyright.
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May
2000
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May
17, 2000, U.S.
District Court in Nebraska hears CIMS motion to enjoin FACIM from
proceeding with suit in Kentucky and FACIM’s motion to either dismiss
the case or transfer venue to Kentucky.
CIMS
motion to enjoin FACIM from proceeding with suit was denied. Venue was
transferred to Kentucky.
CIMS
motion to postpone July 18th
hearing is accepted.
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June
2000
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Joe Jesseph
admits in "mea culpa" email to being
the notorious FACIM correspondent
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June
2000
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FACIM
serves a motion for preliminary injunction papers on Church on June 14,
2000, asking for a hearing on June 21, 2000 to enjoin Church from any new
website activities, particularly with respect to the Hugh Lynn Cayce
version which had begun appearing on the internet in January of 1999,
pending the courts' decision on the parties' motion for summary judgment.
The
Judge denied Wapnick's motion, saying a proper party was not before his
Court, since Wapnick, who was not a party, individually claimed ownership
in that version. The Court further said that if Wapnick could show an
alleged assignment from him to FACIM, then he would give Church a further
opportunity to respond.
A
week later, Wapnick's attorneys produced an alleged "assignment"
from Louis Schucman dated 1990 [nine years after Helen Schucman's death]
allegedly covering the 1972 HLC version, and an assignment from Wapnick,
individually to FACIM dated in March, 2000.
Church
during a visit to the US Copyright Office, learned that the Hugh Lynn
Cayce version had never been deposited in that office by Wapnick and was
not a part of the 22 volumes filed by Wapnick for copyright in 1990. Thus,
the Church's response was again that there was still no party entitled to
claim an infringement of any alleged copyright on the HLC version.
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July
2000
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On
July 21, 2000, Judge
Sweet of the US Federal Court for the Southern District Court for New
York denied BOTH motions of FACIM and of Church for summary judgment.
The
court found factual issues here regarding two of Church's defenses: (1)
whether or not the plaintiffs had distributed copies of the Course without
copyright notice prior to the Course being filed for copyright (called
legally" prior publication" and (2) whether FACIM has a valid
trademark in the Title of A Course in Miracles.
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August
2000
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THE
SOURCETEXT
CREW
___________The
Light has come ___________
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Original,
unedited manuscript of the Course in Miracles (urtext) is digitally
produced and published on the internet by the “Source Text Crew”.
As
quickly as web sites appear offering downloads, they are dismantled by
efforts of the FIP/FACIM attorneys.
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September
2000
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The
Court on September 6, 2000, entered an Order for Preliminary
Injunction against Church’s copying of certain materials and students’
posting infringing material on websites. Church, contending that the
Injunction Order was overbroad and unclear and did not provide for “Fair
Use,” filed a Motion for Dissolution of the Injunction, or In the
Alternative, Modification and Clarification of the Court’s Injunction
Order.
Plaintiffs
subsequently filed a Motion which sought to hold Church in contempt for
violation of the Injunction in various particulars.
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November
2000
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A
Hearing on Plaintiffs’ Motion was held on November 8, 2000 at which time
the Court declined to hold Church in contempt, but requested both parties
to agree to a satisfactory New Order primarily providing, among other
things, that students using the Church’s Internet Server not post
infringing materials on their individual websites.
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December
2000
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The
Court has ordered a Settlement Conference in the FACIM/CIMS case to be
held in Louisville on January 17 although FACIM's attorneys have asked for
a delay in the conference pending completion of an initial round of
discovery. No date for a Settlement Conference has been set.
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January
2001
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Websites
of students who desire to use the Church’s Server for their websites are
hereafter modified along “fair use” lines, as of January, 2001, and
plaintiffs then approve such websites as not being infringing.
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Spring
2001
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Church
continues to gather evidence and has taken depositions in North Carolina,
California and New York in support of its defense that the Course was
circulated without copyright notice prior to its being filed for
copyright, thus injecting it into the public domain. Further depositions
are scheduled in March in NY.
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Summer
2001
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The
parties have agreed, subject to the Court’s approval, that the trial
will consist only of the issue of the Validity of the Copyright, based on
Church’s prior publication defense. Trial of the validity of
plaintiffs’ trade and service marks registrations would then occur only
after a determination of whether or not plaintiffs have a valid
copyright. Either party could, of course, appeal the Court’s
decision in that regard. The case will be held before a Jury, perhaps as
early as this Fall.
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Summer
2001
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FACIM
limits "Fair Use" of ACIM to just 300 words in new
five page copyright policy.
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June
2001
|
After thirty year legal battle remarkably similar to the ACIM copyright
litigations, Urantia Foundation loses
its copyright in a jury trial. Appeal is expected
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June
2001
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Dear
ETC subscriber, (Electronic mailing of daily Text commentaries)
As a result of our continuing
efforts to have a clear understanding with
the Foundation for "A
Course in Miracles" regarding our use of the copyrighted material of
the Course, we regret to inform you that we must, once again, delay the
distribution of the Electronic Text Commentaries. The commentary sent out
on Thursday, May 31, will be the last one for a while. We do not expect
this delay to last more than a few weeks, but we do not have a definite
date as yet. As soon as we know when we can resume publication, we will
let you know.
We are sorry if this causes
you any inconvenience in your study of the
Text with our study guides,
but it is unavoidable. We hope this will be the
last such delay.
Yours in forgiveness,
Allen Watson and Robert Perry
We have pretty much finalized
our agreement with FACIM, and we
expect to resume publication
any day now. More than that I can't say."
--
Peace, Allen Watson
The Circle of Atonement, P.O.
Box 4238, W. Sedona AZ, 86340, USA
Answers to
questions about the Course
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October
2003
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Judge Sweet invalidates ACIM copyright with cost to defendant.
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