Urantia Foundation
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT

March 19, 2003

On March 11, 2003, the majority of a three-judge panel of the United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the jury's verdict in the case of Michael Foundation, Inc. v. Urantia Foundation. The appellate court held that the jury had sufficient evidence on which to base its decision that The Urantia Bookis neither a "composite work" nor a "commissioned work," and that Urantia Foundation was, therefore, not entitled to a renewal of its copyright. Urantia Foundation is exploring avenues for further appellate review.

The court based its decision on assertions by Harry McMullan III regarding creation of The Urantia Book, as outlined in the court's written opinion In approximately 1900, an unknown patient ("the Conduit") sought psychiatric help from Dr. William Sadler. In 1924, after approximately twenty years of treatment and generating "papers," the Conduit announced that he would compose The Urantia Book. He solicited questions from the Contact Commission to present to the celestial beings during his psychiatric sessions.

The court's characterization of the Urantia Papers as a product of psychiatric treatment sessions corresponds closely to that presented in court by Mr. McMullan and his lawyers. It differs sharply from Urantia Foundation's position, which was based upon the testimony and writings of members of the Contact Commission and the Forum. Mr. McMullan, who has no first-hand knowledge regarding any of these circumstances, is the only one who testified that the Urantia Papers originated as a result of Dr. Sadler's treatment of a psychiatric patient. Those who knew Dr. Sadler testified at trial that in the early days when he came in contact with the subject, he practiced surgery and general medicine and only later studied and directed his focus in the field of psychiatry. The trial transcripts and the appellate briefs are available at: https://www.urantia.org/sites/default/files/docs/mcmullan.html.

One of the judges filed a dissenting opinion indicating that in his view, "the district court erred in denying Urantia Foundation's motion for judgment n.o.v." In his opinion, "Urantia Foundation's renewal copyright is valid and enforceable as a matter of law." See Urantia Foundation v. Maaherra, 114 F.3d 955 (9th Cir. 1997).

The appellate decision only affects the United States renewal copyright in the English text of The Urantia Book. Urantia Foundation will continue to display a copyright notice in the English book in order to preserve its international copyrights.? In addition, all of the translations have separate copyrights that remain valid in the United States and internationally.

Although McMullan also had contested the validity of two of Urantia Foundation's trademarks, the court granted summary judgment prior to trial upholding the validity of the trademarks "Urantia" and "Urantian."

Urantia Foundation has sought to make the most of this period of full worldwide copyright protection for the English text in order to carry out the mandates of the Declaration of Trust Creating Urantia Foundation: to exercise control over the printing and reproduction of The Urantia Bookand all translations thereof.

As the original publisher, Urantia Foundation has led efforts to disseminate the teachings of The Urantia Book to the world and to publish, translate, and protect the text. If U.S. copyright protection is not restored, these tasks become increasingly important, and we ask for the help of all who share our love for these inspiring teachings. Together, we can ensure that future generations will have access to an affordable and unadulterated Urantia Book. The Concentric-Circles Symbol and the words "Urantia" and "Urantian" will continue to identify Urantia Foundation's publications and services.

We thank the loyal and dedicated readers who have supported Urantia Foundation. You have blessed this work with your love of the book, your willingness to live its teachings, and your attention to the everyday tasks of disseminating the revelation. You have served on committees, staffed offices, answered phones, raised funds, facilitated study groups and conferences, attended book fairs, hauled and shipped books, called on bookstores and libraries, translated The Urantia Book and a multitude of other communications, and much more. You have generously given of your time and money to this noble cause. Thank you. You have been needed in the past, and you will be needed even more in the future.

We look forward to the challenges of creating a bright future together.

Sincerely,

Tonia Baney
Executive Director
Urantia Foundation