Urantia Foundation "Merchandise" And Trademarks

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Recently, additional trademark registrations were filed by URANTIA Foundation that would prevent the use of "URANTIA" and the Concentric-Circles Symbol in commerce by anyone other than URANTIA Foundation or its licensees on various merchandise items. We have also trademarked a composite mark consisting of the words "The URANTIA Book" together with the Concentric-Circles Symbol, and a quotation from page one of the book: "[T]o expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception..."

We want to assure you that URANTIA Foundation is not marketing these items to the general public or through retail channels. We are only making them available to interested URANTIA Book readers at conferences or other gatherings and as gift items. The fact is, if URANTIA Foundation does not register and use the marks in these categories, others could produce and market this type of merchandise. This would dilute the association of these marks with URANTIA Foundation and The URANTIA Book.

Years ago, URANTIA Foundation registered trademarks for the words "URANTIA," "URANTIAN," and the Concentric-Circles Symbol for use on books and printed materials and as service marks for educational services. This was done as a means of identifying the inviolate text of The URANTIA Book and the services of URANTIA Foundation and affiliated organizations. After the copyright expires, the trademarks alone will serve to distinguish The URANTIA Book published by URANTIA Foundation. The registration of these marks does not preclude their use by individuals for personal, non-commercial purposes as permitted by URANTIA Foundation policies. Nor does this reflect a change in Urantia Foundation's policies that permit reader organizations to identify themselves with such terms as "Readers of The URANTIA Book" or "Students of The URANTIA Book." The copyright and trademark policies are available through our reader services department or from our Web site at http://www.urantia.org/.

We have found that many readers of The URANTIA Book enj oy having these types of gift items. URANTIA Foundation's income from sales of The URANTIA Book does not begin to cover the expenses of producing the book in the various languages. We depend on the generosity of readers to fund the printing, distribution, and translation of The URANTIA Book. The income generated from this merchandise provides another means for URANTIA Book readers to help subsidize The URANTIA Book so that we can keep prices low enough for people around the world to afford it.