Urantia Foundation

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The Urantia Foundation is a Chicago-based non-profit that provides materials, promotes events, and provides guidance associated with The Urantia Book. The foundation was founded in 1950 and currently has offices in six countries worldwide.

Contents

[edit] Purpose

The main purpose of the foundation was to provide for the dissemination of The Urantia Book. It published the first copy of the book to be made available to the public in 1955. Since then, it has also translated the book into a number of different languages.

[edit] Copyright and trademarks

In 2001, a United States jury trial in Oklahoma found that the Urantia Foundation's 1983 renewal of the book's copyright was invalid.[1] This decision was upheld in the United States Court of Appeals 10th District,[2] and the English version of the book is considered to have entered the public domain in the U.S. as of 1983. In 2006, the international copyright on the English text expired.[3]

The Urantia Foundation placed the concentric circles on the cover of The Urantia Book and has a United States trademark for that symbol. The circles are also used with foundation approval to indicate other affiliated organizations.

[edit] Board of trustees

  • Seppo Kanerva (president)
  • Gard Jameson
  • Marilynn Kulieke
  • Judy Van Cleave
  • Richard Keeler
  • Georges Michelson-Dupont
  • Mo Siegel

[edit] References

  1. ^ Michael Foundation, Inc. v. Urantia Foundation v. Harry McMullan, III US District Court decision by jury that Urantia Foundation does not hold the copyright to The Urantia Book
  2. ^ Michael Foundation, Inc. v. Urantia Foundation v. Harry McMullan, III US Court of Appeals affirms the jury decision that Urantia Foundation does not hold the copyright to The Urantia Book
  3. ^ 2006 Urantia Foundation annual report (PDF)