Copyrights Transferred to the BBTI?
BY: URDHVAGA DAS
Jan 10, GERMANY (SUN) — A reply to the question, "How were the copyrights transferred to the BBTI?”
First of all we have to understand that the BBTI is an impostor organisation and has nothing to do with Srila Prabhupada's original BBT. The BBTI just tries to control the BBT, that’s all.
ISKCON and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. (BBTI) are NOT the authentic Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) founded by Srila Prabhupada for publishing his phenomenal works. Srila Prabhupada's Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) is a legal trust and has no connection with ISKCON and the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc., (BBTI) a California corporation formed in 1988, 11 years after Srila Prabhupada departed from this world. Srila Prabhupada established the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust in 1972, and in 1974, appointed Hansadutta dasa BBT trustee for life with these words: "The temples may go, the devotees may go, but my books will live forever."
So, how then were the copyrights transferred to the BBTI? They never where. Hansadutta did NOT "signed over" the copyrights to the BBTI, he only resigned as a trustee.
What Hansadutta did was to resign officially from his post as the BBT Trustee, to which Srila Prabhupada has appointed him life-long (even in writing). The so-called copyrights are still with the BBT, but the problem is that the original trustees of that Bhaktivedanta Book Trust have either resigned or fallen away, so the book trust (BBT) itself is not functional at present, being bereft of its original trustees. That is the real issue and problem. Legally it is very questionable if the bogus BBTI can take over the BBT by getting their own man signed in (into the BBT) with the help of Hansadutta's resignation.
Because of Hansadutta's official resignation as a BBT Trustee (at the court case) the bogus BBTI now thinks to put their own man into the BBT and thus control everything.
The BBTI is an illegal impostor corporation created by ISKCON, which has absolutely no legal rights over Srila Prabhupada's books. They just want to usurp the BBT and control all of the money and printing. The court case against Hansadutta was to contest Srila Prabhupada's own originally created BBT in court, trying to degrade Srila Prabhupada to a mere scribbling of ISKCON and a hired servant of the BBT-I Inc. By suing Srila Prabhupada's lifelong appointed trustees, the bogus BBTI managers thought to get the control over the BBT.
That Hansadutta has resigned from being a BBT trustee is unfortunate, but it does not mean that automatically the bogus BBTI has the printing rights. This is not the case. The rights are still with the BBT only, which at present is disintegrated because it has no more functional trustees. So the BBTI is NOT Srila Prabhupada's BBT at all and they absolutely have no claim to the copyrights on Srila Prabhupada's books.
Unfortunately Hansadutta agreed to a court settlement in which he was offered by ISKCON/BBTI to privately print books outside of ISKCON if he officially resigns as BBT Trustee, and this Idiot (by the advice of his lawyer Gupta) went for it. He betrayed Srila Prabhupada by resigning from his service personally given to him by Srila Prabhupada (to print original books as BBT Trustee).
Srila Prabhupada wanted the BBT to be separate from ISKCON, but Hansadutta being a BBT Trustee resigned from his post, playing the original BBT into the hands of ISKCON GBC-clones, with Dryadwaita Swami on their head, who is perverting all of Srila Prabhupada's original translations, without being checked by anybody.
Hansadutta voluntarily renounced the Sacred Trust as lifetime GUARDIAN of Srila Prabhupada's books for the right to print books outside of ISKCON for personal profit, in any way he likes, with no checks and balances, just to make quick bucks with his own privatised company, by his personalized rights to privatise Srila Prabhupada's books, for himself only. How selfish. How foolish. How unfortunate. What an idiot. What a fool.
The only non-negotiable thing was for him to remain Srila Prabhupada's BBT Trustee as per his order (as his re-established BBT trustee). As BBT Trustee, it was his fiduciary responsibility to fight an appeal to uphold Srila Prabhupada's original BBT Trust, with himself as his appointed trustee.
By appointing Hansadutta as a BBT trustee, Srila Prabhupada knew very well that despite his bad habits and artificial fall-downs, he still had the POTENTIAL to save His BBT from the inevitable book changers and political managers that rushed to change His books even before He went into His final Samadhi.
Srila Prabhupada's original books are not separate from ISKCON so that the BBT Trustees would have the power to demand the purity and obedience to Srila Prabhupada before licensing publishing rights to any branch of ISKCON. In that way, the BBT Trustee was created as the ultimate watchdog of the standards of ISKCON.
But Hansadutta has rejected his service of protecting the integrity of Srila Prabhupada's book-setup, by not getting a court settlement of being re-established as Srila Prabhupada's appointed BBT Trustee. On the opposite, he gave up his post to the KING of the book-changers, Jayadwaita Swami. Not only will the BBTI now NOT be forced to rectify the changed books of the Pure Devotee, but the book-changing fox has been locked in with the chickens! It is hilarious, one does not know if to laugh or cry. Srila Prabhupada wanted him, as his BBT Trustee, to protect his books but he has betrayed him by selling out to the greatest demon and book-changers for a cheap settlement of personal publishing rights.
This is most fatal:
In the settlement it is stated: "Hansadutta Dasa, Veda Guhya Dasa, Bhagavan Dasa, and Dasa Dasanudasa Dasa Dasi have voluntarily stepped down from any role they might have had as trustees of the 1972 trust. And all concerned have agreed that now the (new) trustees (of the BBT) will be four trustees from the BBT-I International: Brahma Muhurta Dasa, Naresvara Dasa, Svavasa Dasa, and Jayadvaita Swami."
So, that means the new BBT trustees are now Brahma Muhurta Dasa, Naresvara Dasa, Svavasa Dasa, and Jayadvaita Swami, and the bogus BBT-I trustees are also Brahma Muhurta Dasa, Nerdesvara Dasa, Svavasa Dasa, and Jayadvaita Swami.
The settlement further states: "With the validity of the California trust now reaffirmed, all parties agree that the rightful beneficiary of the trust is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness". "The BBT-I will continue handling the active side of the BBT operations" (What is that meaning??)
Sounds really bad, and this scum Naresvara (a real nerd) also called Nerdesvara helped destroy the Singapore printing. WOW, the worst scum's Jayadvaita, Nerdesvara and Svavas controlling the BBT as well as the BBT-I. Unbelievable!
However, since Hasadutta did not get the printing license (because it was given to Gupta) he has rescinded his resignation as BBT Trustee. Hansadutta on his website wrote the following:
"This is to notify you that inasmuch as your organization has never given me a license to print the original books of Srila Prabhupada but rather the license has been given to Krsna Books Inc. the formation of which has been proven in court proceedings to be a fraud practiced by my attorney Joseph Fedorowsky (See California State Bar Complaint Case No. 99-0-11217, See Overview of Complaint attached as Exhibit 1).
Also none of the Settlement monies were paid to me other than to cover whatever obligation I may have had to Mr. Fedorowsky. This leaves me no alternative than to rescind the settlement agreement and withdraw my resignation pursuant to which you were appointed trustees of the trust and I must reassert my position as trustee of the trust.
Since the Settlement Agreement has been invalidated I have no alternative but to reassert my duties as trustee. I will now perform my responsibilities as trustee."
Also Madhudvisa wrote to Locanananda the following:
"BBTI is not even the "BBT" Prabhupada established. It is simply ISKCON operating under another name. They have nothing to do whatsoever with Prabhupada's BBT. It is simply a con. They are not the BBT and, as Hansadutta Prabhu's case has proved, THEY HAVE NO CLEAR CLAIM TO THE COPYRIGHTS OF PRABHUPADA'S BOOKS. So the copyright issue is not relevant. BBTI have no clear claim to the rights to Prabhupada's books at all. Nothing has changed since Hansadutta's case except Hansadutta "signed over" the copyrights to the BBTI... But it is very unlikely that Hansadutta had the copyrights of Prabhupada's books in his possession so his "signing over" of the copyrights to the BBTI is completely bogus also. So the BBTI is NOT Prabhupada's BBT at all and they do not have any clear claim to the copyrights on Prabhupada's books.
So these sentimental arguments that the "BBTI should do it" are not very relevant. THE BBT PRABHUPADA ESTABLISHED NO LONGER EXISTS (due to NO original trustees). So now the sincere disciples of Srila Prabhupada have to "do the needful" and get Prabhupada's original books back in print and distribute them, perhaps by reestablishing the REAL BBT. This action alone can force the BBTI to print Prabhupada's original books also as in the presence of Prabhupada's original books there is no market for their adulterated versions of many of Prabhupada's books they print [NOT all of them are changed--BBTI still publish some original pre-1977 books as well]
Actually if we like it or not, but we now have to work with Gupta, since he holds the court approved license, to print original books. Actually Gupta has to sue now the bogus BBTI for printing unauthorised Books.
