Tags
Conspiracy, Contributory Copyright Infringement, Federal Copyright Infringement, Federal Trademark Infringement
The Plaintiff in this lawsuit is The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc., a for-profit foundation claiming to own all physical property and intellectual property of the Heaven’s Gate religious group, which committed the largest mass suicide in U.S. history in 1997. Among the claimed intellectual property are copyrights in audio cassettes, audiovisual works, fabric designs, lithographic prints, and literary works, as well as various trademark registrations for HEAVEN’S GATE.
The Defendants, three individuals, are accused of publicly sharing copies of the audio tapes and video tapes on a free online file sharing and storage site called “4Shared.com.” Per the Complaint (below), Defendant Havel anticipated being sued for sharing the works, posting the following comment on his website:
“So just weeks ago, [a third party] who I had been in contact with on and off for years sent me the digitized audios, all in .mp3 format and I quickly sent them to [Defendant Bartel] and someone else who I know I can trust to be sure to upload them to the internet in mulitple [sic] places so that even if [the Foundation] somehow sue us it will be far too late to keep them from being available to those who want to listen to them.”
The Defendants subsequently provided live streamed discussions advising others how to obtain copies of the allegedly infringed works. Numerous works were live-streamed on YouTube. T-shirts bearing the Plaintiff’s registered trademarks has been advertised by the Defendants. The Complaint alleges further actions taken by the Defendants to prevent the Plaintiff from enforcing its copyrights.
Having anticipated a lawsuit, presumably the Defendants have some type of solid defense ready to go. I expect fair use arguments (criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching), and probably some challenges to the foundation’s ownership of the claimed intellectual property. But t-shirt sales don’t usually go hand-in-hand with valid fair uses so we’ll just wait for the Defendants’ Answer for more clarification of their goals in sharing the works.
The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc. d/b/a/ The Telah Foundation v. Havel et al.
Case Number: 3:22-cv-00395-JD-MGG
File Date: May 18, 2022
Plaintiff: The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc. d/b/a The Telah Foundation
Plaintiff Counsel: Isaac S. Crum of Messner Reeves LLP
Defendant: Steven Robert Havel, Cathy JoAnn Weaver, Jason Bartel
Cause: Federal Copyright Infringement, Contributory Copyright Infringement, Conspiracy, Federal Trademark Infringement
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Jon E. DeGuilio
Referred To: Michael G. Gotsch, Sr.
Complaint:
Indiana Intellectual Property Blog 
Here are the facts of this case:
The Heaven’s Gate group held no copyrights other than a Common Law Copyright on their book.
https://heavensgate.com/book/02.htm
The TELAH Foundation was incorporated after the Heaven’s Gate group was gone. All of the Foundation’s copyrights were filed after the group was gone.
Nowhere in any of the letters that were sent to the Plaintiffs by HG did the HG group mention the word “copyright”, much less that they asked Mark and Sarah King to file any copyrights.
The masters for the Beyond Human series were given to a former member of the HG group in Venezuela. The Plaintiffs copyrighted these videos without telling this individual.
The masters for the “Exit videos” were given to yet another former member of the group, Chuck Humphrey. Mr. Humphrey was also given the disks with the group’s last statements and asked to upload them to heavensgate.com and to “assist” with the website. I have the letters that the HG group sent to Mr. Humphrey as well as to the Plaintiffs and the ISP that was hosting the website. The individual in Venezuela has allowed the letter sent to him by the group to be submitted as evidence. I also have the letter that the group sent to their landlord.
Nearly all of the Plaintiff’s copyrighted material was donated to multiple libraries in 1997 by Mr. Humphrey. These items are listed as having a “Publisher. Right To Know Enterprises”
https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au=%22Heaven%27s%20Gate%20(Organization)%22
The only copyrighted items not donated to libraries by Right To Know Enterprises are the audio tapes numbered 219-486 as Mr. Humphrey did not have access to those tapes after he gave them to the Plaintiffs. Mr Humphrey and Wayne Parker ( another former member ) retrieved the 486 ( later copyrighted ) tapes from a storage locker in San Diego County in late March of 1997. Mark King later obtained the tapes from Mr. Humphrey and promised that they would be made available.
I was involved in helping Mr. Humphrey donate the materials to libraries. We made copies of the audio tapes and digitized them and put them on CD-ROMs. I still give away these CDs to this day.
Yet another former member of the group ( Wayne Parker ) was asked to “register” the group’s book with the Library of Congress. This was never done. Instead, the TELAH Foundation copyrighted the book in their name even though it already had the aforementioned Common Law Copyright on it which allows anyone to reproduce it. The Right To Know edition of the HG book is in the Library of Congress.
@crlody lemme get some CDs yo
As per two rulings by Judge Lisa Guy-Schall in 1999 the Telah Foundation never had any intellectual property rights to the audio tape collection that they are suing the Defendants for in the above suit.
From Judge Guy-Schall”s February of 1999 ruling:
There Is no evidence, written or otherwise, transferring ownership of Intellectual
property rights in the “The Audiootape Library of Heaven’S Gate by TI and Do.”
From Judge Guy-Schall’s August of 1999 settlement decision with Mark and Sarah King of Telah:
This agreement affects only the Parties’ rights and
interests in the intellectual and tangible property held by the
Public Administrator
The property held by the San Diego County Public Administrator was seized by San Diego authorities in late March of 1997. The 486 tapes in the ‘Audiotape Library of Heaven’s Gate” were never held by the Public Administrator and are not listed on the items that Mark and Sarah King purchased from the County for $2,000. The audio tapes were copyrighted on 10-27-97 when the property that the Kings later received from the County was still being held by the Public Administrator. Therefore, the copyrights that the Telah Foundation filed on 10-27-97 is invalid and Mark and Sarah of the Telah Foundation filed a lawsuit based on a fraudulently obtained copyright claiming that it was done as a ‘work for hire’ ‘. No written documentation demonstrating an employer/employee or employer/independent contractor relationship has been produced by Mark and Sarah King to prove that any of the works copyrighted by the Foundation were done as a ‘work for hire’. No creator for these ‘works for hire’ has ever been proven to exist. The Kings are trying to claim that the Heaven’s Gate group hired someone outside of the group to write the group’s book, produce all of their videos and 486 audio tapes.
The Telah Foundation ( true and legal name The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation ) used a fraudulent EIN for the tax years 2016-20 and apparently are still using the EIN for The Evolutionary Leval Above Human Foundation. This is a fictitious corporation with the word ‘Leval’ being deliberately misspelled in the IRS database of taz exempt organization’s.
Evolutionary Leval Above Human Foundation
EIN: 86-0893308 | Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Other Names
EVOLUTIONARY LEVEL ABOVE HUMAN FOUNDATION
On the Foundation’s 2016-2020 tax returns the above EIN is used but the true and legal name of the Corporation, The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation is the entity using the EIN.
Click to access 860893308_201612_990EZ_2017052314463505.pdf
As per the Arizona Corporation Commission’s websire the true and only name of the Corporation in question is The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation. ‘Level’, not “Leval’.
Entity Name:THE EVOLUTIONARY LEVEL ABOVE HUMAN FOUNDATIONEntity ID:08194851
Entity Type:Domestic Nonprofit CorporationEntity Status:Active
Formation Date:9/23/1997Reason for Status:
In Good Standing
Approval Date:9/23/1997Status Date:
Original Incorporation Date:9/23/1997Life Period:Perpetual
Business Type:Other – RELIGIOUSLast Annual Report Filed:2023
Domicile State:ArizonaAnnual Report Due Date:5/23/2024
Here it is in the EIN tax id database as the fictitious entity with the misspelling of ‘Leval’ but with the name Mark King mentioned who is the Statutory Agent, President/CEO and a Director of The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation. The fake Corporation also is in Scottsdale AZ and uses the same PO Box that the Foundation has used on the Foundation’s tax returns and as an address for the “Directors” of the Foundation, Mark and Sarah King, listed on AZCC’s website.
https://eintaxid.com/company/860893308-evolutionary-leval-above-human-foundation/
The Foundation is allegedly a church and yet it is currently using a mailbox at a UPS store in Scottsdale, AZ as the Foundation’s ‘Known Place of Business’ and the address of the Statutory Agent, Mark King.
Statutory Agent Information
Name:MARK KINGAppointed Status:Active
Attention:
Address:23623 N Scottsdale Rd D3-424, SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85255, USA
Agent Last Updated:2/22/2023
Address
Attention: TELAHAddress: 23623 N Scottsdale Rd D3-424, SCOTTSDALE, AZ, 85255, USACounty: MaricopaLast Updated: 2/22/2023
23623 N. Scottsdale Rd. D3 is a UPS store that offers mailbox services.
https://locations.theupsstore.com/az/scottsdale/23623-n-scottsdale-rd/mailbox-services
According to the statutes governing Nonprofit Corporations In AZ PO boxes and personal mailboxes may not be used for the KPB or the Statutory Agent’s address as LEGAL DOCUMENTS cannot be served without a physical address. Mark King changed his address as Statutory Agent just a few months before filing this lawsuit against myself and two others. Prior to this he was using his and his wife’s private residence as the Known Place of Business of the alleged Church and charitable organization that known as The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation.
All of this is available through public records.
https://ecorp.azcc.gov/CommonHelper/GetFilingDocuments?barcode=22012514300566
In early 2022 the ‘Known Place of Business’ of the Foundation was 7402 E Sand Hills Rd. Scottsdale, AZ. This was the KPB going back to 2016.
https://www.propertyiq.com/az/scottsdale/7402-e-sand-hills-rd/85255-piq158826910
The Kings purchased the home in 1993 and sold it to the Mark and Sarah King Trust in 2001. It was a Church with no known services, members or ordained Ministers.
The Foundation declared $0 in revenue and $10 in expenses every tax from 2016-2020 using an EIN for a fictitious company that they then lied on the tax return and claimed was the EIN for the King’s actual Foundation. Using the true and legal name to search for tax exempt organization’s on the IRS’s website will yield no results.
Mark and Sarah King have a lot to hide and it is all coming to light.
09/23/1997 True Name THE EVOLUTIONARY LEVEL ABOVE HUMAN FOUNDATION
The alleged Plaintiff, The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc., does not exist. The true name of the Arizona Nonprofit Corporation is listed above. d/b/a The Telah Foundation, an alleged Arizona nonprofit corporation, is merely the ‘trade name” or ‘fictitious name’ of The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc., an Arizona Religious 501(C)(3) Nonprofit Corporation. The two individuals who initiated this lawsuit used a non-existent corporation and a d/b/a as the alleged Plaintiff, neither of which are a legal entity or person.
Rather, d/b/a The Telah Foundation is the ‘trade name” of The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation, Inc. as The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc. is not an entity Incorporated in Arizona and does not exist.
Alleged Plaintiff, ‘The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc.’ is a non-existent corporation. The ‘true name’ of an Arizona Nonprofit Corporation with a similar name is ‘The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation, Inc.’ and that entity is currently ‘Pending Administrative Dissolution’ by the Arizona Corporations Commission. https://ecorp.azcc.gov/BusinessSearch/BusinessInfo?entityNumber=08194851
Searching the AZCC’s website for ‘The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc.’ will yield no results. Nor can ‘The Telah Foundation’ be found in an ‘entity search’ on the AZCC’s website as ‘The Telah Foundation’ is merely the ‘d/b/a’ of ‘The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation, Inc.’ and therefore ‘The Telah Foundation’ is not a legal, Incorporated entity.
‘d/b/a The Telah Foundation’ was used to fraudulently register multiple copyrights in September and October of 1997, most before ‘The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation’ was Incorporated in Arizona on September 23, 1997. ‘The Telah Foundation’ was also used file a fraudulent creditor’s claim in the California Superior Court, County of San Diego on September 19, 1997, four days before the Arizona Nonprofit Corporation that ‘The Telah Foundation’ is a ‘d/b/a’ of was Incorporated.
‘The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation, Inc.’ was an alleged Plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in a U.S. District Court, Northern District of California in March of 1998. However, the Plaintiff’s Attorneys signed twice to represent
‘The Evolutionary Level Above Heaven Foundation, Inc.’, another non-existent corporation.
For the purposes of tax fraud another non-existent corporation has been used:
Evolutionary Leval Above Human Foundation
EIN: 86-0893308 | Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Other Names
EVOLUTIONARY LEVEL ABOVE HUMAN FOUNDATION
The same EIN for the non-existent corporation is being used by the Arizona Nonprofit Corporation to file taxes:
Organization Name:
EVOLUTIONARY LEVEL ABOVE HUMAN FOUNDATION
EIN:
86-0893308
Tax Period:
202012
The author of this piece, Mr Kenan Farrell stated that the Plaintiff, The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc. is a ‘for profit foundation’. This has always confused me as,
a) The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc. is not an entity Incorporated in the state of Arizona and in fact does not exist.
b) The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation, Inc. is an Arizona Nonprofit Corporation that is classified as a ‘public charity’ by the IRS and not a private foundation, much less a for profit foundation.The word ‘Foundation’ in the name of the entity does not make it a foundation, it is a public charity that initially used a fake name in which the word level was misspelled as leval. As of April, 2024 the IRS has corrected this fake name to the true name of the Arizona Nonprofit Corporation. The tax exempt status was obtained with the fake name in 1999, google Evolutionary Leval Above Human Foundation as there are still sites using that fake name.
According to Dun and Bradstreet there are two Arizona business entities with the name of The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation, one is allegedly ‘Out of business’ and was using 4757 E. Greenway Rd. in Phoenix as an address. This is the Arizona Nonprofit Corporation that was Incorporated in Arizona on September 23, 1997. This entity is still ‘Active’ according to the Arizona Corporation Commission and used 4757 E. Greenway Rd. as the address for the ‘Known Place of Business’ for the Arizona Nonprofit Corporation from 2001 until 2015. From 2016 until 2022 The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation, Inc. used 7402 E Sand Hills Rd. as the address for the Known Place of Business.
The other entity is some type of unincorporated business entity, possibly a business trust of some type, and uses 7402 E Sand Hills Rd. as an address, the private residence of Mark and Sarah King, the sole two Officers/Directors of the Arizona Nonprofit Corporation with the same name as the possible trust entity. I believe that this is the ‘for profit foundation’ that Mr. Farrell mentioned is the ‘Plaintiff’ in our case. This entity is allegedly ‘Active’ according to Dun and Bradstreet.
The problem with this for profit entity being the Plaintiff stems from the fact that Attorney Issac S. Crum stated in paragraph 4 of the instant complaint that the Plaintiff is an,
‘Arizona 501(C)(3) Nonprofit Corporation’.
And after initially claiming that the Plaintiff with an incorrect name, The Evolutionary Level Above Human, is ‘Inc.’ and an Arizona 501(C)(3) Nonprofit Corporation the Plaintiff’s Attorney started filing documents on behalf of a different entity with the same name as an Arizona 501(C)(3) Nonprofit Corporation but it is not ‘Inc.’ and no longer an Arizona Nonprofit Corporation but an Arizona nonprofit corporation.
A.R.S § 10-1874 states,
‘The business trust shall file a copy of its articles, declaration of trust or trust agreement by which it was created, certified by the corporation commission, in the office of the county recorder in the county where the principal place of business of the trust is located’
If there is an Arizona trust entity with the name of The Evolutionary Level Above Human Foundation at 7402 E Sand Hills Rd., Scottsdale, AZ then that entity has not recorded any filings with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office as the Recorder’s Office has not recorded any documents involving a business entity with that name.