Cite as 288 F.Supp.2d 544 (S.D.N.Y. 2003)
the date of this name change was not accomplished until June 9, 1976.
In or about 1976, FIP itself began to publish A Course in Miracles in a set of three hardcover volumes—one containing the Text, the second containing the Workbook, and the third containing the Manual for Teachers. In 1985, FIP began publishing A Course in Miracles in a single softcover volume. In 1992, FIP began publishing the second edition of A Course in Miracles in a single hardcover volume. Each of these editions was published with copyright designation affixed.
In December 1995, FIP entered into a five-year licensing agreement with Penguin, pursuant to which Penguin was granted the license to publish and distribute A Course in Miracles in English in all territories except the United Kingdom. The version of the book published and distributed by Penguin was a single hardcover volume. The Penguin licensing agreement expired by its terms in or about December 2000.
On or about September 22, 1998 through a written transfer and license agreement approved by the Attorney General of the State of New York, FIP assigned and transferred to FACIM its right, title and interest in and to A Course in Miracles and its foreign translations, including its copyright interest therein. The transfer agreement was filed in the U.S. Copyright Office on April 1, 1999.
- E. The interests and Credibility
The Church and Endeavor use the Course in their teaching and seek to have it freely available, including publication on the internet.
Skutch Whitson and her ex-husband, Robert Skutch, and Wapnick and his wife are the key figures in FIP and FACIM respectively.
Although it was Schucman’s directive that only a non-profit foundation was to publish the Course, FIP assigned it to a for-profit company, Penguin, for $2.5 million dollars. Skutch Whitson and her family receive salaries, perks and benefits from FIP.
Wapnick’s income is from his books, tapes and workshops, in which he talks about the Course, and from donations. He has published several writings that include excerpts of the Course.
Jampolsky also has an on-going financial arrangement to publish excerpted Course materials without having to pay royalties. He has had an intimate relationship with Skutch Whitson with whom he met three days before his third-party deposition.
Bolen has received consulting fees from FIP over the past years of approximately $25,000 a year. He was a consultant for 5–6 years and consulted up to early 2003, just prior to the trial, making between $12,000 and $25,000 a year. Additionally, he has a pending book deal with FIP to write a book on Schucman and Thetford that is in progress.
- F. The Limitations
The plaintiffs did not present any written evidence of any limitation upon the use of the Course when distributed, as found above. The evidence of oral limitation came from witnesses interested in upholding the copyright. From the facts as found above, it is a fair inference that Schucman and Thetford, for their own personal reasons, sought to limit the distribution and use of the Course.
However, after Skutch Whitson’s California trips, the appeal of the Course to a wider audience became apparent, and certainly by the time of the initiation of the Criswell edition in August 1975, a decision was made, certainly by Skutch Whitson,
