Validity of Copyright in The Urantia Book is Upheld Again

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On August 29, 1980 in the United States District Court, Western District of Michigan, a judgment was entered in the case of URANTIA FOUNDATION vs. Robert Burton. This judgment granted Urantia Foundation, plaintiff, its motion for Summary Judgment in all respects. The Court found, among other things, “that the plaintiff has a valid statutory copyright in The Urantia Book.”

Urantia Foundation was forced to bring suit against Mr. Burton (the defendant in the case), when early in 1975, the defendant made photocopies of portions of The Urantia Book and then distributed them publicly. The defendant undertook this course of action specifically in order to challenge the validity and the Foundation's ownership of the copyright in The Urantia Book.

This decision is of considerable significance. For not only is this the second court decision to uphold the copyright in The Urantia Book, but also it was made in response to a planned, concerted effort to challenge the validity and ownership of the copyright.