02 Jun 2008
Posted September 11th, 2007
UPDATE ... complainaint revealled as Colonel Hansa Raval of BKWSO San Antonio. Attorneys filing amended proceedings. High level discussion held within BKWSU Internationally.
On 12.24 pm Sept 10 2007, a National Arbitration Forum domain dispute was filed against the registrant of the BrahmaKumaris.Info domain.
At present it is not clear what actions the BKWSU as a whole, or certain Brahma Kumari members within the organization, are considering but we would suspect it is an attempted “Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy” [UDNRP] dispute. The purpose of such a dispute would be to gain control of the BrahmaKumaris.Info domain name, removing the content and service we provide from the internet.
To file a UDNRP can costs $1,300 to $2,600 or more plus whatever legal fees one choses to involve. At present the domain name is “locked” and cannot be transferred. Such a case is expected to take approximately two months to complete until legal ownership is decided. The moderators of BrahmaKumaris.Info remain committed to supporting a forum which documents and openly discusses all matters relating to BK life. All data has been backed up, can be moved and will not be lost. But please make and circulate your own copies.
The BrahmaKumaris.Info website was freely registered with the intent to counter what many see as an increasing trend towards secrecy, commercialization and personality cult within the BK Family. It was established to be inclusive of all elements within ‘the BK family’ rather than exclusive, in the hope of returning the BK family back to its spiritual roots. We have always attempted to support and empower by giving free and open access to “The Knowledge” which is considered to be God given to all of humanity, to be honest of our experiences within the BKWSU and help others understand theirs.
In doing so, we have not been afraid to raise and encourage the overdue discussion of commonly acknowledged controversial issues within ‘the family’. Issues widely felt by a broad spectrum of individuals affected by the BKWSU both inside and out. Whilst welcoming and publicizing the view points of a variety of splinter groups within ‘the family’, we have together discovered, discussed and continued to make public serious revisions in the history and philosophy of the BKWSU. By doing so, it is hoped others have been inspired to review ‘The Knowledge’ at a far greater depth and awareness of the facts than they had done so before.
We also keep on record incidents of what many feel are lamentable failures in the organization’s duty of care but which cannot be ignored. The suicides. The handling of mental illness. The physical violations of splinter groups such as the PBKs. The leadership’s response to child abuse.
Whereas we would have preferred that the leadership of the BKWSU had engaged in open discussion and co-creation with other forum members on an equal basis, we welcome the opportunity the engage in an official Domain Name Dispute as the final report will enter public record and we will be defending it.
Regarding your e-mail of 10th September 2007, I refer you to Sister Jayanti’s e-mail dated 12 August 2007 in which she states clearly the basis for communication.
Best Regards,
Alka Patel[/quote]
Appointed Attorneys:
Kelly McCarty Esq. or Dustin Edwards Esq.
1111 Louisiana St. 25th Floor,
Houston, TX. 713-787-1400
mccartyk@howrey.com
edwardsdustin@howrey.com
US Patent Office search:
http://tarr.uspto.gov/
UPDATE ... complainaint revealled as Colonel Hansa Raval of BKWSO San Antonio. Attorneys filing amended proceedings. High level discussion held within BKWSU Internationally.
On 12.24 pm Sept 10 2007, a National Arbitration Forum domain dispute was filed against the registrant of the BrahmaKumaris.Info domain.
At present it is not clear what actions the BKWSU as a whole, or certain Brahma Kumari members within the organization, are considering but we would suspect it is an attempted “Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy” [UDNRP] dispute. The purpose of such a dispute would be to gain control of the BrahmaKumaris.Info domain name, removing the content and service we provide from the internet.
To file a UDNRP can costs $1,300 to $2,600 or more plus whatever legal fees one choses to involve. At present the domain name is “locked” and cannot be transferred. Such a case is expected to take approximately two months to complete until legal ownership is decided. The moderators of BrahmaKumaris.Info remain committed to supporting a forum which documents and openly discusses all matters relating to BK life. All data has been backed up, can be moved and will not be lost. But please make and circulate your own copies.
The BrahmaKumaris.Info website was freely registered with the intent to counter what many see as an increasing trend towards secrecy, commercialization and personality cult within the BK Family. It was established to be inclusive of all elements within ‘the BK family’ rather than exclusive, in the hope of returning the BK family back to its spiritual roots. We have always attempted to support and empower by giving free and open access to “The Knowledge” which is considered to be God given to all of humanity, to be honest of our experiences within the BKWSU and help others understand theirs.
In doing so, we have not been afraid to raise and encourage the overdue discussion of commonly acknowledged controversial issues within ‘the family’. Issues widely felt by a broad spectrum of individuals affected by the BKWSU both inside and out. Whilst welcoming and publicizing the view points of a variety of splinter groups within ‘the family’, we have together discovered, discussed and continued to make public serious revisions in the history and philosophy of the BKWSU. By doing so, it is hoped others have been inspired to review ‘The Knowledge’ at a far greater depth and awareness of the facts than they had done so before.
We also keep on record incidents of what many feel are lamentable failures in the organization’s duty of care but which cannot be ignored. The suicides. The handling of mental illness. The physical violations of splinter groups such as the PBKs. The leadership’s response to child abuse.
Whereas we would have preferred that the leadership of the BKWSU had engaged in open discussion and co-creation with other forum members on an equal basis, we welcome the opportunity the engage in an official Domain Name Dispute as the final report will enter public record and we will be defending it.
[quote=BKWSU London]Regarding your e-mail dated 11th September 2007 which states: ‘On 12.24 pm Sept 10 2007, the BKWSU or BKWSO filed a National Arbitration Forum dispute against the registrant of the domain’, we wish to inform you that the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University has not filed any such dispute.Admin says: September 13th, 2007 at 3:49 am e
Response sent to the BKWSU in reply to a denial that the BKWSU was taking legal action against this site.
13 Sept 2007
Consequent to the notification of a domain name dispute being filed against the BrahmaKumaris.Info domain, we received an email from Alka Patel dated 11th September 2007 on behalf of Sister Jayanti who we understand to represent the BKWSU Internationally, stating that the BKWSU or BKWSO were not filing a domain dispute. See below.
It would appear that we were correct in our assertion and Sister Jayanti was uninformed.
We have since had confirmation that Howrey LLP of Texas have been appointed to act on the matter and that BKWSO Texas have retrospectively filed a series of US trademarks for “Brahma Kumaris”, “BKWSU” and “Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University” numbers 77212561, 77212547, 77212153 respectively which we presume are going to be used for the basis of the dispute.
Naturally, we are concerned by the contradictory messages that we are receiving from the BKWSU and at the legality of the seemingly independent actions of a Brahma Kumari follower. We note that the word “University” is a protected title in both the US and the UK, consider the term “Brahma Kumaris” to be generic rather than a product or a brand, and are aware that your organization is not unique in its historic use of the term. Can you confirm whether the attorneys have been informed of this?
Given the response from the international director, we are also concerned that the individual that has registered these trademarks and started legal proceedings is acting without license or authority from the parent entity and original intellectual property right holders. In our opinion, such actions risk appearing to be unilateral and made on the basis of unrelated personal motivations that will ultimately reflect badly on the BK family (of which we consider ourselves to be part) as a whole.
Lastly, in attempting to clarify and resolve these matters with Alka Patel/Jayanti Kirpalani, it would appear that our email address is now being blocked again, hence our approach to all members of the mailing list we were copied in on.
We would like to take this opportunity to urge the leadership of the BKWSU to adopt a cautious approach to addressing these matters and show a willingness to engage in a meaningful dialogue at the soonest occasion.
Thank you.
Regarding your e-mail of 10th September 2007, I refer you to Sister Jayanti’s e-mail dated 12 August 2007 in which she states clearly the basis for communication.
Best Regards,
Alka Patel[/quote]
Appointed Attorneys:
Kelly McCarty Esq. or Dustin Edwards Esq.
1111 Louisiana St. 25th Floor,
Houston, TX. 713-787-1400
mccartyk@howrey.com
edwardsdustin@howrey.com
US Patent Office search:
http://tarr.uspto.gov/