 Dear Aleksey,

Thank you for the compliment, but it is maybe given too soon! I still must write to you in English, and hope that you will understand everything, or find someone who will be willing to translate for you. You, of course, should continue to write to me in Russian.

When I wrote M. Ts. R., yes, I meant Mezhdunarodny Tsentr Rerikhov, in Moscow. In order to justify their registration of the copyright, M. Ts. R. published a letter from Helena Roerich in which she recommended the registration of the Banner of Peace sign. And they also published a letter from Nicholas Roerich, in which he applies to the authorities in Washington to copyright the sign. But when they published Nicholas Roerich's letter, they made some mistake, and neglected to publish the page in that letter that actually shows the sign that is being discussed. But I am certain it is the same Chintamani. 

I already explained that I am sure the sign belongs, officially, to the Roerich Pact, and, if any copyright exists, it exists with the Pact. So Helena Roerich's instruction could not be followed. I also explained that this museum tried, in the 1960s, to follow her instruction, but our application was denied, either because the symbol was universal, or because it belonged to the Pact. We do not have that letter of denial, so I cannot know which was the reason. But the registration agency itself recommended to us that if we added something, maybe a motto, it would be something new, and we could copyright it. We did that, and have a valid copyright for the symbol with the motto "Pax Cultura".  

As to the letter from Nicholas Roerich, I am sure it was something that was never sent. One does not apply for copyright with a letter; one must fill out proper forms and submit them. We have not found any record that shows that a copyright application was filed by Nicholas Roerich. So the only application for copyright made here in America was by this museum, as I described above.

All the books of the Teaching in English have been registered and are under copyright protection by The Agni Yoga Society in New York. The books of the Teaching in Russian are a different problem entirely. The Soviet copyright law was different from any other, because nothing could be published by anyone except by the state. In that law (I read in a book on copyright law), anything published outside the USSR and copyrighted was declared to be in the public domain in the USSR. In other words, anything could be published by the state. And I am pretty sure that there is a principle that states that once something is in the public domain, it remains always in the public domain. That means that in Russia, all the books of the Teaching that were published in Russian in Paris, in Riga, in Ulan Bator, in Harbin, and elsewhere, is in the public domain in Russia. Maybe that is why M. Ts. R. does not bring lawsuits against people who publish the Teaching in Russia. The only lawsuit
 that they made was against Sfera Publishing House, for publishing still-unpublished manuscripts that they claim to have the rights to.

I regret that we do not have the documents you need to fight these battles. I only know what I know, and I can tell you what I know. We here appreciate whatever efforts you have made on our behalf, to defend us against attackers. Those attackers are interested only in power, and cannot understand people who do not care about power. But we have no interest in influence, power, or money. And we prefer not to fight with people, even when they attack us. I have been under attack by Ludmila Vasilievna for more than ten years, and during all that time, I have never fought with her or attacked her in public. Because of that commitment, it is difficult to help you in your battles. But I will be happy to tell you anything and everything that I know. Much of what I know was told to me, by the original members of the group established here by the Roerichs in 1920. Sina Fosdick told me many things, and Frances Grant also, and Katherine Campbell Stibbe, and Ingeborg Fritschi. These
 things are undocumented, but they are true. And people can accept them or not, according to their own conscience.

I hope you are able to have my writing translated properly. It is terrible when a thought becomes quite something else in translation.

Best wishes,
Daniel


                       










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