Hypnobirthing Deception Uncovered The following incredible document was received by the HypnoFertility Foundation and is provided here for you to have a full and final understanding of the circumstances surrounding anyone’s right to use the term hypnobirthing. You will find the following research most enlightening: Thanks to the hypnobirthing practitioners for all the e-mail addresses of hypnobirthers around the world. You have made it possible for all to receive this liberating and empowering information. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Ownership of Hypnobirthing From: Archie McIntyre <a.mcintyre1@btinternet.com>; Date: Mon, March 28, 2011 4:30 pm To: <office@hypnodenver.com> <office@hypnodenver.com> Cc: Kate Graves <katharine@thehypnobirthingcentre.co.uk>
This is the truth behind Mongan’s constant claim that she owns the word ‘hypnobirthing’ in the USA and the completely unwarranted ‘cease and desist’ letters she sends out to threaten people successfully without any legal basis whatsoever. These facts are the basis of my defence and are facts that Mongan has managed to obfuscate to the extent that they are not generally known or indeed known at all. Here are the website addresses of the relevant pages for Mongan’s USA registration of the word ‘HypnoBirthing” (sic) in the stylized form only, and the page for the entire comments on the case she lost comprehensively, including the Judge’s Order and remarks. It is a damning indictment of Mongan’s assertions and well worth passing on as widely as possible within the hypnobirthing community. It makes it crystal clear that Mongan and her acolytes are lying in their teeth (there is no other phrase that covers the matter) when they state or even infer that nobody in the USA (or indeed anywhere in the world) may use the word ‘hypnobirthing’ without Mongan’s permission. It should be pointed out that even the stylized form of HypnoBirthing may be freely used anywhere in the world other than the USA for it is not registered in any other country. Anybody in the USA may use any spelling or presentation they wish of the word ‘hypnobirthing’ (i.e. Hypnobirthing, hypnobirthing, HYPNOBIRTHING, HYPNObirthing or any combination desired other than the registered stylized one using a capital H and B (HypnoBirthing). As you will see from the New Hampshire Court transcript, Judge McAuliffe threatened to take even that away from Mongan under 15 U.S.C. if she did not drop her case against Michelle LeClaire O’Neill - which she then did swiftly. Mongan has since then promoted the idea that apart from her only Michelle LeClaire O’Neill may use word (though even she may not use it in the stylized form) and this is very clever for it makes apparent logic since they both claim to have originated the word and sounds like a reasonable outcome of a dispute. So this has allowed her to get away with the impression that apart from Michelle she does indeed control the word. This, however, is completely false, for whilst Michelle may indeed use any non-stylized version of the word she wants, so may any other practitioner in the USA as a result of Judge McAuliffe’s statement and the termination of the case. Mongan of course keeps this very quiet. A close reading of the transcript will show that the judge said the conjunction of two common words (hypnosis and birth) does not make the new compound word 'hypnobirthing’ open to become the property of any single person, so it remains in common free usage. He also states clearly that Mongan seeks but has no right to "corner the market" (Judge McAuliffe's precise words) in hypnobirthing; nor does she have exclusive rights to the word or the practise of hypnobirthing; so anybody may say they practise hypnobirthing provided they use the unstylised form which is registered. Judge McAuliffe’s exact words, as you may read in the website below are “ . . it would seem, legally, that anyone who teaches birthing methods that employ hypnosis to aid in pain reduction has the right to call the process “hypnobirthing”. Nothing could be clearer than that. Mongan wisely did not challenge that statement, but abandoned her case, so the statement stands. Furthermore the Judge stated that there is no unarguable evidence as to who precisely first used the word (in her testimony, Michelle O’Neill asserted that the word was already “generic” and not open to ownership, as the Judge points out) or employed the practise and that therefore both are free for all to use, apart from Mongan’s registered stylized version of the word. All this is disregarded by Mongan and her acolytes who constantly give the impression that both the word and the practise of hypnobirthing are owned by Mongan, and may only be used by members of her group and with her permission. This is untrue as is made crystal clear by Judge McAuliffe in his ORDER; yet this false position is constantly backed up by threats and letters to 'cease and desist' which as I say above have no weight in law whatsoever. The relevant US Patent Office website addresses are: http://tess2.uspto.gov/ showing Mongan's registration is stylized only. When the page opens, go to 'Select A Search Option' and immediately under it, click on 'Basic Word Mark Search (New User)'; on the next page in the 'Search Term' field enter the word ‘hypnobirthing' and click on 'Submit Query'; you will come to a new page showing three Records. Click on the middle one (the only one showing as Live, and it will take you to the actual registration. You will note in 'Mark Drawing Code’ which defines how the word is registered that it states "IN STYLIZED FORM" and that is the only form (with capitals H and B) that is registered. Any other form is freely open for use to all in the USA, and all forms including the stylized one are open for free use in any other country in the world. http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=92032066&pty=CAN&eno=17 giving Judge McAuliffes’ complete ORDER dismissing Mongan’s application for summary judgement and advising her to withdraw or lose both the entire case and her registration of even the stylised form of HypnoBirthing. Mongan immediately withdrew and abandoned her case. She now only owns the stylized form and any or all other forms of the word are open for free use in the USA. It is worth reading this entire document in detail as much emerges - none to the credit of Mongan. Judge McAuliffe went on to become a Federal Judge and Senior Judge of New Hampshire, so he is no ordinary legal individual. It is time that hypnobirthers in the USA came out from under the shell of fear that Mongan has created and started practising openly as hypnobirthers as they are fully legally entitled to do. The response to any ‘cease and desist’ letter on behalf of Mongan or her institute should be met with a “Get Lost” letter quoting the above websites and relevant passages from them, and inviting her to take action. She knows she will lose and be left with the costs of both sides and that will be that - so she will do nothing for she will lose. Once this happens a few times and she realises that the game is up she will doubtless stop this disgraceful threatening nonsense and the world of hypnobirthing can open up as Judge McAuliffe has says it may, and her attempt at "cornering the market” (Judge McAuliffe’s words) will be over, as he stated she has no such right. Mongan has clearly based her unfounded claims and threatening letters on the belief (true up till now) that nobody knew the facts of the case. That has worked well for her and would doubtless have remained the case had she not taken action against me. In order to defend my position I did huge amounts of research and came up with these official US Government websites that reveal the truth. If Mongan had left me alone it would all still be unknown, so she has brought this upon herself. The more widely this knowledge is spread the better, for all the practitioners and more importantly the mothers-to-be they can help, throughout the USA. Best wishes Archie
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