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  • From: Scott Pittman <pci@permaculture-inst.org>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Bill Mollison copyright statement
  • Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 11:54:11 -0700 (PDT)

Cover letter to Permaculture and other associated Journals

RE: The following press release



11 May 1999

Dear Editor:

We frequently receive notifications from teachers and students of
their
intention to alter or change the Permaculture curriculum or to
restrict
teachers or students in their pursuits to teach or study and also
laying
claim to the material. This material is vested in the Institutes and
the
graduates of courses and to that extent in common ownership. But the
material itself was solely evolved by the author and the original
curriculum
taught in 1979 was devised by the author alone. People tend to loose
sight
of this and claim ownership by adoption. (For some reason this is
happening
most recently in Australia). Thus we need to periodically re assert
ownership and to legally update copyright. At my death copyright shall
remain with the Permaculture Institute in Australia and Permaculture
Institute Inc. in USA and their directors and the same laws shall
apply,
that is teachers can not claim personal ownership of the curriculum or
sell
it or give it way without infringing copyright law.

We would very much appreciate you printing our reasserting as you are
a
vehicle for information on Permaculture. Thank you in advance for your
kind
attention to this matter.



Most Sincerely,



Bill Mollison

Director


RESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

>From Bill Mollison, Author, Permaculture: A Designer's Manual

For further information, contact Lisa Mollison

Phone: 61 3 6445 0945 Fax:61 3 6445 0944 email:
lisam@tas.webnet.com.au

11 May 1999

RE: Ownership of Permaculture Curriculum

Periodically, it is necessary to reassert my ownership of the original
Permaculture curriculum, which is also legally asserted by publication
of
the Permaculture Manual in 1988 of which the contents of the book and
the
word Permaculture are copyrighted to the author and that any use of
said
curriculum must be by application to the author, that is not to
secretaries
or other directors, but to the author only. The Permaculture Design
Course
handbook issued by the Permaculture Institute to students for many
years now
is simply a concise outline of said curriculum, and subject to the
same
laws. If any person writes a text book, in particular a foundation
text book
for a subject, no other person can assert ownership of that text, lay
out or
illustrations nor can any group of people substantially alter or
assert
ownership of the text. We have always specifically guarded ownership
of the
PC curriculum so that all students have much the same experience in
common
no matter what their cultural or financial backgrounds are, they would
have
a common and equal education experience.

Both this Institute and our American Institute in Santa Fe,
Permaculture
Institute, Incorporated, are attempting to establish an academy that
will be
legally able to issue higher degrees this is a long process and will
not be
running smoothly for some time to come.. The Permaculture Institute
began
issuing diplomas to students after two years practical work following
their
certificate course in about 1988. It is and shall remain the registrar
of
all diploma holders globally. This diploma is widely recognized
through
other institutions and some universities, like Humboldt State
University and
Slippery Rock University, etc...

.

In the past re-assertions of copyright have appeared in the Academy
Yearbook, p. 17 and have been reproduced in the 1998 American
Permaculture
Directory, p. 6. Students publishing curriculum which often contain
word for
word copies of copyrighted material from the manual and course
handbook
cannot sell that curriculum nor can institutions purchase said
curriculum or
teach it, even if presented under other names, such as Sustainable
Agriculture or Sustainable Designs. All such people need to write
their own
curriculum and textbooks and not plagiarize my work nor my
illustrations. It
would be refreshing if people wanting to publish would create their
own
material and did not plagiarise mine.

This note is to restate the current position so there can be no
misunderstandings about ownership of the material.

Thank you,



Bill Mollison

Director, Permaculture Institute

<><><><><><>

Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm ICQ#27930345
lflondon@mindspring.com london@metalab.unc.edu
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden InterGarden
metalab.unc.edu/permaculture PermaSphere
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm AGINFO





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