and presumably by Schucman, to copyright the work so that it might be distributed more broadly. There is nothing in this record to indicate that Schucman and Thetford had any objection to the registration and publication of the Course, nor is there any indication that they participated in it. The decision to copyright and thereby to control and profit by the distribution of the Course was made after the distribution of the xerox copies described above.
Skutch Whitson and Skutch were the initiators of the act of registration, although they possessed no formal rights in the property. The act of registration and distribution was not challenged by Schucman, Thetford or Wapnick, all of whom played a role in the creation of the Course. The mystical experience reported by Wapnick and Skutch Whitson was converted by Skutch Whitson into a property right.
Proceeds from the sale of the Course were paid to Schucman during her life and to her husband after her death. Despite Schucman’s distaste for parasensory investigations, as testified to by Skutch Whitson, the name change from FPI to FIP did not occur until almost a year after the Crisweil edition. Assuming that the Voice was the source of Schucman’s decisions as conveyed to Skutch Whitson, the decisions had distinct economic implications.
Thereafter, but prelitigation, both Skutch and Skutch Whitson described the distribution of hundreds of xerox copies—Skutch in his book Journey Without Distance, Skutch Whitson in a number of transcribed interviews. Skutch’s book, published by FIP, describes a distribution through Bolen but the distribution is denied by Bolen, overall a credible witness, and Skutch has no first-hand knowledge of the California trip and repeated in his book what he has been told by Skutch Whitson. However, it is fair to infer from the description of the July meeting that a number of xeroxes were made and that the cost of the xeroxing was a motivating factor in developing the Criswell editions.
Skutch Whitson’s prelitigation statements of the distributions of hundreds of xerox copies are found on various tapes made of her remarks. She admitted the authenticity of her voice but stated that the statements on the tapes concerning the distribution were false, explaining that “I was telling stories,” and in answer to her counsel’s question, she “embellished, exaggerated.” (Tr. 211).
Skutch’s statements about distribution which were contained in Journey Without Distance, were altered in the edition which was published subsequent to the initiation of this litigation. The alteration deleted references to the distribution of the xerox copies of the uncopyrighted Course.
From all the evidence, it is a fair inference that, as Skutch Whitson stated, on her second trip to California she permitted xeroxing “and it seemed very right that people would pass it along, copy it over and copy it over, until finally people’s copies were getting so light, that they couldn’t see them anymore, and a few of us got together and recognized the need to put it in some kind of a form that was easier to read. And out of that came very small little paperbacks that the print was so small you needed a magnifying glass.” (Def. Ex. N, N1, counter No. 1B165–180). This 1977 statement accords with the facts of the second California trip and the initiation of the Criswell edition.
II. Conclusions of Law
- A. Copyright Jurisdiction
The parties agree that this Court possesses subject matter jurisdiction over this action under the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. and that to succeed on a claim of copyright infringe-
