Encyclopaedia Iranica Dispute Is Ongoing

As we reported on August 26, 2019, and September 28, 2020, Columbia University ("Columbia") and the Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation ("EIF"), both of which have been connected with the production of the Encyclopaedia Iranica (the "Encyclopaedia"), have been engaged in a long-running dispute over copyrights, trademarks, and other legal causes of action that are associated with the Encyclopaedia.

Essentially, EIF, which was created to promote the work of the Encyclopaedia through fundraising, claims to be the successor of the intellectual property interests and legacy associated with the Encyclopaedia and its late creator, Professor Ehsan Yarshater ("Yarshater"). However, Columbia claims that the Encyclopaedia has always been a Columbia project that has been administered by its Center for Iranian Studies (of which Yarshater was the director for over 30 years), and that Columbia controls the associated copyrights and trademarks.

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In our last update on this case, we noted that the parties had submitted documents arguing for and against the court instituting a preliminary injunction to keep Columbia and its associates from using the disputed trademarks. In an order filed on October 8, 2020, the Court denied the injunction. It cited, among other findings, the facts that: (1) EIF was established primarily as a fund-raising vehicle; (2) that the "ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA" mark had been used by Columbia before EIF existed; and (3) that the Encyclopaedia has been identified as a Columbia project in the past, even in EIF documents.

From these and other facts, the Court concluded that EIF could not demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of its claim since it had no evidence of a clear intention by Columbia or Yarshater (the first users of the marks) to transfer the marks to EIF. The Court also denied Columbia's request to modify the case management plan that the Court had put in place to allow a third-party vendor to inventory case-relevant documents with disputed ownership between the parties.

Following this development, and other procedure and discovery-related steps in the case, Columbia filed a Second Amended Complaint on February 26, 2021. The amended complaint gives further details regarding the claims advanced in the previous complaint, and it also identified new claims and associated prayers for relief. The claims involve:

• Issues related to the registration of the "ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA" mark (shown in this exhibit) and associated marks;
• Copyright infringement in the publication of Columbia-owned material on the Encyclopaedia's website (control of which was allegedly wrested from Columbia by EIF);
• Copyright infringement in the publication by EIF of a "new" volume of the Encyclopaedia (incorporating material previously published in fascicle form by Columbia);
• Interference with Columbia's contractual relationships with its web-hosting, publishing, and file-storage companies;
• Interfering in Columbia's relationships with the Encyclopaedia's contributors by tricking them into assigning their works to EIF instead of Columbia (falsely-assigned works listed in this exhibit); and
• False endorsement, false advertising, unfair competition, and similar claims.

EIF has not yet filed an answer, but we will provide updates as more become available.