Urantia Foundation
Encyclopedia
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.
found that the Urantia Foundation's 1983 renewal of the book's copyright
was invalid. This decision was upheld in the United States Court of Appeals 10th District, 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.
The Urantia Foundation placed the three blue concentric circles logo 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.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based non-profit that provides materials, promotes events, and provides guidance associated with The Urantia Book
The Urantia Book
The Urantia Book is a spiritual and philosophical book that discusses God, Jesus, science, cosmology, religion, history, and destiny. It originated in Chicago, Illinois, sometime between 1924 and 1955...
. The foundation was founded in 1950 and currently has offices in six countries worldwide.
Purpose
The main purpose of the foundation is to provide for the dissemination of The Urantia Book and to ensure that the text remains as unaltered as possible. 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.Copyright and trademarks
In 2001, a United States jury trial in OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
found that the Urantia Foundation's 1983 renewal of the book's copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
was invalid. This decision was upheld in the United States Court of Appeals 10th District, and the English version of the book is considered to have entered the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
in the U.S. as of 1983. In 2006, the international copyright on the English text expired.
The Urantia Foundation placed the three blue concentric circles logo on the cover of The Urantia Book and has a United States trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
for that symbol. The circles are also used with foundation approval to indicate other affiliated organizations.
Board of trustees
- Mo Siegel (president)
- Gard Jameson
- Marilynn Kulieke
- Judy Van Cleave
- Richard Keeler
- Georges Michelson-Dupont
- Henk Mylanus