I'm not persuaded in respect of many above-mentioned changes (frankly, I see mostly poorly founded speculations), but I'm pretty sure the 2000 WTS reorganization was driven by (possible) legal difficulties.
Corney
JoinedPosts by Corney
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Help with article on Watchtower Changes due to Legal Pressure
by jwfacts inat https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/8j8fj9/what_legal_requirements_have_forced_the/excircuitoverseer started an excellent thread on areas watchtower has changed due to legal pressure.
this has promoted me to gather the information into an article.
there is a number of points that i would like to expand on, and need assistance in finding information.. the article is at https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/blog/changes-due-to-legal-pressure.php.
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Help with article on Watchtower Changes due to Legal Pressure
by jwfacts inat https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/8j8fj9/what_legal_requirements_have_forced_the/excircuitoverseer started an excellent thread on areas watchtower has changed due to legal pressure.
this has promoted me to gather the information into an article.
there is a number of points that i would like to expand on, and need assistance in finding information.. the article is at https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/blog/changes-due-to-legal-pressure.php.
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Help with article on Watchtower Changes due to Legal Pressure
by jwfacts inat https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/8j8fj9/what_legal_requirements_have_forced_the/excircuitoverseer started an excellent thread on areas watchtower has changed due to legal pressure.
this has promoted me to gather the information into an article.
there is a number of points that i would like to expand on, and need assistance in finding information.. the article is at https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/blog/changes-due-to-legal-pressure.php.
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Corney
Are you sure there is any causal link between the Bulgarian case and the doctrinal change on civilian service? That seems like a pretty big assumption. For example, after refusal to register JW in Germany as public-law corporation due to, inter alia, prohibition on voting, WTS didn't overruled it, despite the fact that the recognition by Germany was much, much more important than registration in Bulgaria.
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JW Persecution in Murmansk, Refugees hit Finland
by Slidin Fast inyou know, disagreeing and with and hating all the cultish beliefs and practices that mark out jwdom doesn;t make it ok to treat them like russia is doing.
this is one time i find myself defending these largely goodhearted but misled people.
if only the gb members and their squad had stayed around to face what they are expecting their followers to face.. https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/life-and-public/2018/04/fsb-starts-detaining-jehovahs-whiteness-kola-dozens-flee-finland.
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Corney
This happens not only in Murmansk; criminal cases now opened in at least 9 towns, and I think there will be much more prosecutions when the Russian Munich-36 is over. In Tver region, children were seized from deaf woman without even decision of "court". And the crazy dictatorship is the one who bears primary responsibility for such actions - its "experts" produced the pseudo-scientific delirium of "expert reports", its law enforcement officers planted evidences, its kangaroo "courts" delivered ridiculous and poorly reasoned "judgments" etc. etc.
Alex Bogdanov
I know for a fact Russian government asked Jehovah's Witnesses to 1. Change their name into a more Russian. (Macdonalds in Russia called differently depending on the county) 2. Change the name of the magazines into more Russian. 3 And most of all make a centre for JW work in Russia in Russia. Not a Bethel. But an office that won't constantly report to USA. If the GB really wanted to continue the ministry they could have changed a few rules and make the life of Russian JW easier. But they don't care about the people. Sort of like a dictator when sending troops to die with out any concern. They are stubborn people without any empathy. 😪
1. Do you really know this? Could you indicate your source, at least in general terms?
2. "1. Change their name into a more Russian" - is "Свидетели Иеговы" not Russian enough? Cyrillic letters, Russian words, what's wrong?
3. "Macdonalds in Russia called differently depending on the county" - are you sure? I think it's not true.
4. "2. Change the name of the magazines into more Russian" - are "Сторожевая башня" and "Пробудитесь!" not Russian enough too? Should they be named "Колокольня"/"Звонница" and "Вставай, страна огромная", yeah? And this claim is nonsense also because these magazines with "not Russian enough" names had not been being imported in Russia since 2010.
5. "3 And most of all make a centre for JW work in Russia in Russia" - this can be true. But do you understand that, first, such demand is not legitimate under Russian Constitution and international agreements; second, only man without any empathy can claim that WT's refusal justifies authorities' actions in any way?
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New World Translation REVISED Editions
by Wonderment ini have noticed some posters (with frustration) asking for information regarding the nwt in various language editions.
here is a list of some of the nwt revised language editions published so far:.
albanian; arabic; armenian; chinese traditional 2017; danish 2017; dutch-netherlands 2017; estonian; haitian creole; italian 2017; korean 2014; modern greek 2017; norwegian 2017; portuguese 2015; romanian; russian; swahili 2017; swedish 2017; ukrainian; vietnamese.. not yet published: .
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Corney
Wonderment
Here is a list of SOME of the NWT REVISED Language Editions published so far:
Albanian; Arabic; Armenian; Chinese Traditional 2017; Danish 2017; Dutch-Netherlands 2017; Estonian; Haitian Creole; Italian 2017; Korean 2014; Modern Greek 2017; Norwegian 2017; Portuguese 2015; Romanian; Russian; Swahili 2017; Swedish 2017; Ukrainian; Vietnamese.
No, there are no NWT revised editions in Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Russian and probably in few other mentioned languages. See the front pages (look at the date):
Albanian
Arabic
Armenian
Russian
By contrast, Portuguese
and Ukrainian
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Religion Project
by Darren Doody ini've recently taken a particular interest in the jehovah's witness belief, and as a result, have decided to do a project on this belief as part of my college study.
i am a student teacher in ireland, so, i am undertaking this project from an educational perspective; i want to see how jehovah's witnesses are catered for in religious education in schools, and if there are any ways one could improve it.
i would appreciate if anyone could give their opinion on this topic.
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Corney
I hope you'll find these articles useful:
Roger Homan (1988) Teaching the Children of Jehovah's Witnesses, British Journal of Religious Education, 10:3, 154-159, DOI: 10.1080/0141620880100306
Pernilla Liedgren (2016): Minorities with different values at school – the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses, British Journal of Religious Education, DOI: 10.1080/01416200.2016.1150253
Liedgren, P., & Andersson, L. (2013). Strategies Among Young Jehovah’s Witnesses in Compusory School in Sweden, Age 13 – 15, a Case Study, International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 4.1, 3–26, DOI: 10.1558/ijsnr.v4i1.3 (ResearchGate, Academia.edu)
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PORTUGAL: Petition to terminate the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness gets national news coverage
by EdenOne inthe petition is now going on 537 signatures.. today the newspaper "diário de notícias", the leading non-tabloid newspaper in the country, gave the story front page coverage and a full page to the article inside.. here are the links to the pictures of the pages:.
front page:.
page 6 and article: .
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Corney
EdenOne, could you say how many signatures meet the requirements of art. 6(3) and 17(2) of the Law no. 43/90? How many signatures are valid?
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JW.ORG logo trademark is now protected in up to 100 countries
by Corney ini. as many here know, four or five years ago watch tower society of pennsylvania tried to register jw.org and jw library trademarks in us, but uspto refused registration due to likelihood of confusion with jw player trademark.
" and "watch tower library" ones):.
jw library - registered on aug. 25, 2015;.
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Corney
Nothing too exotic about this. Companies do and protect their trademarks. So?
You're surely right but I think it's interesting and even a bit funny. For example, all WTS and IBSA publications are banned in Singapore but the Society's trademark is registered in this country in respect of, among others, digital media and printed materials "in the field of religious education... all featuring religious information relating to the tenets of the Jehovah's Witnesses denomination".
I have also created a map; maybe someone will find it interesting: https://farm1.staticflickr.com/790/40325387094_93ca9a3bf0_k.jpg
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JW.ORG logo trademark is now protected in up to 100 countries
by Corney ini. as many here know, four or five years ago watch tower society of pennsylvania tried to register jw.org and jw library trademarks in us, but uspto refused registration due to likelihood of confusion with jw player trademark.
" and "watch tower library" ones):.
jw library - registered on aug. 25, 2015;.
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Corney
I. As many here know, four or five years ago Watch Tower Society of Pennsylvania tried to register JW.ORG and JW LIBRARY trademarks in US, but USPTO refused registration due to likelihood of confusion with JW PLAYER trademark. But it was not the end. WTS petitioned for cancellation of registration for the latter mark, and later have settled with its owner: both parties agreed that the JW PLAYER registration and the JW.ORG and JW LIBRARY Marks can co-exist without a likelihood of confusion. Then WTS could obtain the registration - and on Aug. 25, 2015 it was granted. Now Watch Tower Pennsylvania owns the following registered trademarks (in addition to the old "Watch Tower", "Awake!" and "Watch Tower Library" ones):
JW.ORG - registered on Aug. 25, 2015 and Jan. 24, 2017;
JW LIBRARY - registered on Aug. 25, 2015;
JW - registered on Oct. 31, 2017 (the second application; the first one was refused).
The US registration extends to all US states and possessions, including Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
II. Watch Tower Society also moved to extend the JW.ORG trademark protection. On Nov. 2, 2015 it obtained international registration under the WIPO's Madrid System. The international application was based on the second US application (filed on May 13, 2015; registered by USPTO on Jan. 24, 2017). It should be noted that international registration doesn't automatically extend to all Madrid System member states but only to designated by applicant; a national trademark office has also power to refuse protection within the prescribed time limit (generally 12 or 18 months from receiving notification of international registration; see article 5(1) and (2) of the Madrid Protocol). Such refusal is provisional, it may be overturned or confirmed by national office. Caribbean Netherlands (3 territories: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (BES)) is the only jurisdiction in which protection is granted automatically with the designation.
Watch Tower Society designated all the Madrid Union jurisdictions (excluding EU member states because it designated the EU itself). For example, the Society requested for extension of protection to, among others, Bahrein, Iran, Singapore, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The move was generally successful.
First, the EU, the OAPI (African Intellectual Property Organization), 36 countries [1], including Australia, China, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and Switzerland, and two Dutch territories (Curaçao and Sint Maarten) sent to the WIPO's International Bureau statements of grant of protection. The EU protection extends to all 28 EU member states (and probably to Vatican), 11 (including 10 inhabited) French territories [2], and some British dependencies [3]. OAPI designation covers its 17 member states [4]). Australian protection extends to the Cocos Islands, Norfolk Island, and Christmas Island.
Second, 21 countries [5] neither have explicitly granted nor have refused protection within the prescribed time limit; since art. 5(2)(c) of the Madrid Protocol and Rule 5 of the Common Regulations are likely inapplicable, JW.ORG trademark is protected or should be protected in these countries.
On other hand, some countries and regions (mainly in Africa) failed to implement their international obligations as members of Madrid Union into national law. They "have not yet enacted domestic legislation so as to explicitly provide protection for marks designated under the International Registration system. It is therefore doubtful that designations will be enforceable in these countries".
Third, only two countries (Russia and South Korea) have confirmed their provisional refusals, and only five countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Columbia, India, Syria, Uzbekistan) have still neither confirmed nor reversed ones. There is high probability that some refusals will have been canceled as had already happened 7 times.
So, thanks to the WIPO's Madrid System, JW.ORG trademark is now protected (or should be protected) in up to 103 countries and 15 - 17 (or slightly more) inhabited territories.
III. Almost all Central and Southern American countries as like as many African, Asian, Caribbean and Pacific states and territories are still not members of the Madrid System; that's why WTS had to file national applications on JW.ORG trademark. I know about the applications filed in Argentina (registered), Brazil (pending [6]), Canada (pending), and Hong Kong (registered). Finally, JW trademark is now registered in Australia, EU, and New Zealand (the cancelled international registration was successfully transformed into the national applications, and JW trademark’s protection wasn’t damaged by so-called “central attack”); the application before Canadian IP Office is pending.
Information about status of trademarks is available in WIPO GBD and TMview international databases:
I would be grateful for any further information or clarification.
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[1] Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Belarus, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine.
[2] French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Réunion, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, as well as Wallis and Futuna.
[3] Probably Gibraltar, Island of Man, and Jersey; there are conflicting statements and opinions on this point: link 1, link 2, link 3; link 4.
[4] Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, The Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
[5] Azerbaijan, Bahrein, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Macedonia, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
[6] Interestingly, there also is a history of JW.ORG trademark applications filed by Associação Torre de Vigia de Bíblias e Tratados (WTS Brazil). One application was refused; another was successful but WTS Brasil later petitioned to cancel the registration.
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Anyone know of update on Delaware legal case?
by careful indoes anyone know of any updates on this case about the clergy-penitent privilege?.
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/lawsuit-against-jehovahs-witnesses-elders-for-not-reporting-child-abuse-continues-443003903.html.
this was the latest thing (last sept.) i could find in a google search.
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Corney
It looks like this case was settled
Status: CLOSED - CLOSED...
31-JAN-2018
04:19 PM STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL TIGANI, JANICE R [Delaware DOJ attorney]
Entry: CLOSED: STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL DATE DOCKETED: FEBRUARY 3, 2018 STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL ACCEPTED BY: NT TRANSACTION ID: 6163207306-FEB-2018
11:25 AM ORDER JOHNSTON, MARY M [Judge]
Entry: ORDER SIGNED BY DATE DOCKETED: FEBRUARY 7, 2018 ORDER SIGNED BY: JOHNSTON, MARY M GRANTED (STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL) ACCEPTED BY: NT TRANSACTION ID: 61651354
