Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.Copyright Lawsuit: Defenses Glorifying the Aga Khan filed in federal Court - 2010-04-29
In a surprisingly rapid twist of events, both Mr Tajdin and Mr Jiwa have filed their respective statements of Defense this 29th of April 2010. They affirm to being devoted followers who will unconditionally abide by the wishes of the Aga Khan, whom they glorify in their defense.
Mr Tajdin declares that:
He has not been served yet but the ethics imposed upon him by his faith demands that he should not keep in ignorance the public by being silent on the issue and should clarify all of the facts, pertaining to this lawsuit, of which he is aware.
He reaffirms his allegiance to the Aga Khan, is willing to submit to any of his wishes, and is ready to surrender himself and all his possessions to the Imam.
He has been printing Farman books since 1992 with approval and instructions from the Imam received on August 15, 1992 in Montreal.
He has not received any communication from the Imam from 1992 to 2009 instructing him to stop publication.
He cannot stop publication without instruction from the Imam as this would be a breach of his oath of allegiance to the Imam.
All Farman publications were financial deficit projects done as a volunteer service and large numbers of books were distributed free of charge.
Farman sharing is a historic Ismaili tradition which still continues today.
The current Ismaili Constitution does not restrict the right to publish Farmans
Mr Tajdin concludes that:
He has no choice but to await further direct instructions from the Imam.
He reaffirms his allegiance to the Aga Khan, is willing to submit to any of His wishes, and is ready to surrender himself and all his possessions to the Imam.
Mr Jiwa states that:
"This action does not appear to have been authorized personally by the Aga Khan .."
"In distributing Farman books obtained from Tajdin to other Ismailis, he has not violated either the Ismaili Constitution or any Farmans"
He has not violated the copyright act as "Tajdin was given express authority by the Imam" and regardless of the fact that "the limitations period provided for by the Copyright Act also bars this action as the books containing the Farmans were commenced publication in the year 1992", he will still do whatever the Imam tells him to do.
Mr Jiwa clarifies finances:
He "obtains these books for C$50.00 and sells them for C$50.00 or gives them free, without any profit.
"All monies received by him from the sale of (other) books after 2005 were delivered to the Jamatkhanas"
Mr Jiwa further states that:
"If the Imam edited the Farman before releasing to the Jamats, in effect he is superceding the Farman he made orally previously."
He "unconditionally reconfirms his oath of allegiance to his Imam" and "if the Imam does not desire his Farman books to be distributed to the Jamats (...) this defendant will submit to the instructions of His Imam without reservation whatsoever"
Replies From the Plaintiff are due within 10 days, and Affidavits of Documents are due 30 days later.
[Update from May 6: Ogilvy Renault, the law firm which launched the case has asked for an extension of 15 days to reply to the Defense. They claim delays due to breakdown of email servers, blackberry communication, travel of senior lawyer, time difference with Paris etc...The more delays in this file, the more damage it creates to the reputation of the Ismaili community, the Imam and the defendants. It is to the advantage of all parties that this case be withdrawn from the courts.]
[Update from June 22: Defendants have filed a Motion for summary Judgement to have the case dismissed.]
[Update from September 5:
Online Book that gathers court materials as well as articles that are currently available for the ongoing 2010 Lawsuit:
Copyright Lawsuit 2010: Online Book of All available Materials
News on cross-examinations:
Copyright Lawsuit: CROSS_EXAMINATIONS Table of Contents - 2010-09-04
Latest Development
Copyright Lawsuit: Imam Appears for Discovery and Ends the Case - 2010-10-15
As users are asking to read the letters from Nagib and Alnaz on the court docket, the latest have been attached on the following link:
A. Various Court Filings
Revised Factums have been posted Here:
2010-11-29 Summary Judgment : Plaintiffs Revised Combined Factums of Reply and of Motion
2010-11-29 Summary Judgment: Defendants' Revised Factums of Motion and of Reply
There has been proven fraud in the recent past in the Aga Khan's domain by the Aga Khan's agents:
Aga Khan Lawsuit: Fraud at Aga Khan Studs - 2000-02-22
2011-05-25: A Jamati Member who has never met the Defendants volunteered as his brotherly duty to pay the $30,000 that was demanded in the Plaintiff''s submissions and that was accordingly ordered by the judge.
Read the full details of the $30,000 payment directly to H.H. The Aga Khan.
2011-06-16: The Appeal Memorandum of Fact and Law against the Summary Judgment has been filed in court by the defendants on June 16th, 2011.
Read the Full Appeal Memorandum of Fact and Law
Link to Court Docket Case T-514-10
Link to Court Docket Appeal A-60-11
Link to Court Docket Appeal A-59-11
Link to Court Docket Appeal A-156-13
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Tajdin Defence Apr 29.10.pdf | 491.02 KB |
| Jiwa AK Defence Apr 29.10.pdf | 543.82 KB |
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Teaching and Sharing Knowledge
Letter sent to. IIS and ITREBS.
Subject: Teaching & sharing knowledge ... Farman below ..
I refer to the session (Din & Dunya) you will be giving at IIS London to the youth. (announced in JK). I trust you will do so to the letter and spirit of the following Farman (and many other Farmans), and especially knowing that;
1 Din - You are not giving to our youth copies of all Farmans, full constitution, nor material/research/books on our rites and practices, (Imam wishes and Jamat have asked),and also
2 Din -You have not been teaching, and imparting a full understanding of specifically them to the Jamats. (Imam wishes in Farmans and the Jamat has asked)
3 Din - You have given instructions to ITREBS/Waezeens not to copy, explain or interpret them for the Youth and the Jamat (see earlier emails and farmans I have quotes and discussed) – Imam wishes in Farmans and Jamat have asked
4 Dunya – you are not giving access to detailed reports of the work, & budgets of all our constitutional bodies including for example Focus, AKDN, and mandate, work, and publications by IIS. You do not even tell us who are the senior Management and committees for us to contact them. Nor do you give the Din annual and triennial reports prepared of the Jamat for the Jamats benefit. (Imam wishes and Jamat have asked)
If you really want to change the present culture of secrecy, marginalization and mindset, which you have created and which Imam wishes you to ?
· You need to proactively start sharing and imparting these to them and imparting what you know they do not know and need to know and what Imam says in Farmans. You agreed this is critical and needed.
· If not, do you agree this session will be more of the same, for example you said Niyat is not a Shia concept and you/IIS do not have any material on Niyat ?? (You were either lying to me in writing, or you really do not know in which case how will you teach or discuss one of our foundational practices we recite and pray daily.
Please do correct me where I am wrong. (Imam wishes that too as you know)
Farman - “You must select Murids who have read and understand the Quran so that they can explain and relate the Quran to our Farmans and to our Ginans , which come from our Farmans and the Quran . These selected Murids (scholars) must be able to teach and explain to your children so that they too can understand and articulate with Hindus , Sunnis, Itnasharees , and Christians. Without such scholars you will not understand or be able to explain, and your children will become confused. These scholars must be good so that their knowledge of our Tariquah will include knowledge of our different traditions and understanding of other faiths. Therefore when they explain you will fully understand our faith and our faith will enters into your hearts and your thoughts and our faith will becomes a part of your daily lives and thinking. Our Dua and our Namaz comes from the Quran . Remember there are Ismailies in other parts of the world with different traditions. I am sending our Namaz to them. These scholars will be able to explain every Ginan in the context of the Quran and our Farmans. Ginans are from and also give expression to our Farmans and the Quran.” Mawlana Sultan Mohammed Shah made Farmans in 1899 (Kalam e Imam e Mubin)