The Urantia Book Fellowship

 


Memorandum of Understanding
Mediated Agreement Between Urantia Foundation and
The Urantia Book Fellowship
March 18, 2001


 

The following is a typed version of a hand-written Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the Foundation and The Fellowship on March 18, 2001. Both sides had agreed to work on the MOU to polish it up into a final "memorialized" agreement. To date, this has not been accomplished. Since it is difficult to say just when the "memorialized" agreement will be ready for publication, The Fellowship finds it reasonable to share this document with all those who are interested in it. Please bear in mind, that despite our inability to agree on the final wording of the "polished up" document, all of the provisions of this document are binding.

Some background information may be useful:  Many months of communication between the Foundation and The Fellowship Negotiating Team culminated in an agreement to meet, with the assistance of a mediator, in order to resolve the differences between the two sides. The following is an abbreviated version of the Foundations demands that were on the table prior to the March 17 meeting: 1. The Fellowship should remove all translations of The Urantia Book, completed Foundation translations as well as partial or unauthorized translations, from the its website. 2. Regarding the English text of The Urantia Book, The Fellowship must either display an HTML version of the Foundations text or remove all of the pop-up texts and footnotes from its own version. 3. The Fellowship should stop using its Internet address www.urantia-book.org. 4. The Fellowship should ! transfer any domain names it had registered which include the words, Urantian or Urantia, to the Foundation. 5. The Fellowship should transfer all RealNames that it owns containing the word Urantia in any form or combination to Urantia Foundation. 6. The Fellowship should stop using The Urantia Book Fellowship as its organizational name.

 The five-member Fellowship team, Marvin Gawryn, Marilynn Kulieke, David Kantor, Dan Massey, and Avi Dogim, met with the five Foundation trustees, Kwan Choi, Georges Michelson Dupont, Gard Jameson, Richard Keeler, and Mo Siegel, and with the rest of the Foundations team including Tonia Baney, Seppo Kanerva, Nancy Shaefer, and Mindy Williams. Both sides and their respective attorneys met for sixteen and a half consecutive hours (breaking for lunch only) in the offices of Katten Muchin Zavis, a Chicago law firm.

 The meeting began with both sides, their attorneys, and the mediators assembled around one conference table and, for an hour or so, members of both sides presented their individual perspective on the issues. After that, the teams separated into different rooms and the mediators shuttled between the two teams, bringing revised proposals, suggesting various compromises, seeking clarification, on and on until the wee hours of the morning after St Patricks Day. There were times when it appeared that no agreement would be finalized before we parted company that day. People were getting hungry, fatigued, irritated, and disgusted. Yet, both sides were sufficiently determined to sign an agreement by the end of the session, everyone feeling that failing to do so would be tantamount to losing critical momentum. At 2:30 AM, the MOU was signed.  Both sides should be commended for their patience and perseverance.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                     MOU

Terms:

1. Non-exclusive, royalty-free (NE-RF) license to display official English UF version of TUB (Official Text or OT).

  • copyright notice
  • after encountering OT, a link button appears providing a Study Aid(s) option
    • Study Aid(s) will have following features:

a.disclaimer

b.copyright notice

c.no changes to OT

      • Study Aid(s) license includes:

a.page, section, paragraph reference system

b.commentary, footnotes, annotations

c.file structure/formatting (non-textual) changes to facilitate faster uplinking to user

Note: Must take place in VPH or other environment that cannot be entered from external search engine but through encountering OT with link button.

2.NE-RF license to link said frame to Official UF translations of TUB (TRANSL), on UF website, but shall not directly link to an unauthorized translation.

  • must include English and TRANSL language copyrights notice in frame

with regard to situations where UF has not published a translation, TUBF is free to reprint speech, article, etc., that use the English language equivalent of up to 1,500 words of unauthorized translation of TUB if for every translated word there are at least two original words with the speech, article, etc.

3.UF and TUBF agree TUBF shall have an enjoy a non-exclusive right to continue to use: a) The Urantia Book Fellowship as an organizational name; b) metatags incorporating any of Urantia Foundations trademarked words; c) www.urantia-book.org; and d)  www.librourantia.org (until www.librourantia.org is transferred to UF).

Subject to the terms and conditions herein, including reasonable right of UF to inspect quality control from time to time, to ensure that TUBF is:

  • an organization in good legal standing
  • TUBF does not engage in criminal acts or acts of moral turpitude
  • TUBF does not use the name, metatags described above, in a manner that is offensive to objective good taste or so objectively injurious as to substantially damage UF or TUBF

The fellowship recognizes the three concentric circles as a symbol having religious significance to Urantia Book Fellowship and will not use it as a designation of origin for its products or services

Within nine (9) months of this MOU (3/17/01), TUBF will transition away from http://www.librourantia.org , and will transfer this domain name to UF by no later than December 17, 2001.

4. The term of this agreement is perpetual, except as to 3.d (www.librourantia.org), which license shall expire upon December 12, 2001.

5.Use mediation and arbitration, if necessary, to resolve disputes arising out of or relating to this agreement.

6.Reasonable notice and opp. to cure (sixty (60) day standstill to negotiate and resolve differences).

7.Duty of good faith and fair dealing applies.

8.A mutually acceptable formal agreement memorializing this term sheet will be executed by the parties; however, the terms of this MOU shall be binding.

9.Signatures have authority to bind the respective organizations.

10. Mutual agreement not to disparage each organization.

11.Share real names The Urantia Book and LibroUrantia for portal with links to UF, TUBF, IUA and an additional affiliate of TUBF to be named later.

____________________________________

 

__________________________________

By: Richard Keeler

Title: President

Urantia Foundation

 

By: Avi Dogim

Title: President

The Urantia Book Fellowship

12.To the extent the law does not or no longer protects the trademarks or copyrights, then TUBF is in no worse position then if TUBF had not entered into this Agreement.


ADDENDUM TO MOU

  • In one year, the parties shall discuss UF providing one or more translations to TUBF for its website.
  • TUBF shall immediately provide its format for its formatted Spanish translation, and provide transitional assistance, including working with an independent, mutually agreeable third party technician (third party), in order to ensure that the speed of text delivery on average is reasonably similar (to the objective satisfaction of said third party technician) to the current speed of delivery on TUBFs website presently, as follows:

a. within thirty (30) days, TUBF will provide current speed specifications as verified by third party;

b.if after ninety (90) days from the agreement, third party says speeds are reasonably similar, then TUBF shall frame the Spanish translation on UFs website and remove its formatted Spanish translation;

c.if after ninety (90) days from the agreement, third party says speeds are not reasonably similar, then another ninety (90) day period shall commence to obtain reasonably similar speed to satisfaction of third party; and

d.if after second ninety (90) days, the parties have not achieved reasonable speed to satisfaction of third party, then parties agree to mediate to a resolution.