Warning - Unauthorized Representation of Use of the Crucible® Approach in New Zealand
Dr. David Schnarch and Dr. Ruth Morehouse and their business, the Marriage & Family Health Center, own certain intellectual property rights in the Crucible ® Approach, which is a unique integrated approach to sex, intimacy, and relationship problems developed by Dr. David Schnarch. Their intellectual property rights include copyright in website, training and advertising material describing the Crucible ® Approach and the authorized workshops provided by the Marriage & Family Health Center. They have authorized numerous best selling books on the subject, including Passionate Marriage, published in the United States by W.W. Norton & Co, and Owl Books (Henry Holt), and in Australia and New Zealand by Scribe Publishers, and elsewhere in the world. They also own significant goodwill in the Crucible ® Approach, both as an approach to therapy and as a brand.
Dr. Schnarch, Dr. Morehouse and The Marriage & Family Health Center are the sole authorized providers of workshops based on the Crucible ® Approach. They expressly forbid any person from practicing the Crucible ® Approach, unless that person is an approved mental health professional, has been trained to practice the Crucible ® Approach by or with the consent of Dr. Schnarch or Dr. Morehouse at the Marriage & Family Health Center, and has been expressly permitted to practice the Crucible ® Approach by Dr. Schnarch, Dr. Morehouse and the Marriage & Family Health Center. Any attempt to represent the practice the Crucible ® Approach without their permission is a serious breach of their intellectual property rights, a breach of professional codes of conduct and ethics, and misleading conduct in trade.
Dr. Schnarch, Dr. Morehouse and the Marriage & Family Health Center expressly forbid anyone from using their intellectual property in any way without their express written permission. They regard a breach of their intellectual property rights very seriously, and where appropriate will pursue legal action against infringers.
Violations in New Zealand
Recently, Drs. Schnarch and Morehouse and the Marriage & Family Health Center have become aware that a clinic in Auckland, New Zealand, has purported to practice the Crucible ® Approach and breached a number of its intellectual property rights. In addition, the clinic may have misled the public and breached professional codes of conduct or ethics. The clinic in question is Kilpan & Associates. Mr. Tony Lipanovic is listed as the founder of that clinic.
Kilpan & Associates claimed that its therapists could use the Crucible® Approach therapy. In our opinion, Kilpan & Associates cannot be regarded as competent in Crucible ® Approach therapy, as they have not been specifically trained by Dr. Schnarch, Dr. Morehouse to become a Crucible ® Approach therapist.
Kilpan & Associates also reproduced a substantial amount of copyright material from the www.passionatemarriage.com website on its website (www.kilpan.co.nz). It also used the Crucible® Approach brand without permission from Drs. Schnarch and the Marriage & Family Health Center.
Kilpan & Associates is not authorized to practice the Crucible ® Approach and is not authorized to use any of the intellectual property rights in the Crucible ® Approach owned by Dr. Schnarch, Dr. Morehouse and the Marriage & Family Health Center.
Dr. Schnarch and the Marriage & Family Health Center considered that these activities were likely to mislead the New Zealand public and other mental health professionals, by creating an incorrect belief that Kilpan & Associates were qualified or authorized to practise the Crucible ® Approach or to use the intellectual property in the Crucible ® Approach owned by Dr. Schnarch, Dr. Morehouse and the Marriage & Family Health Center.
Kilpan & Associates have now removed the infringing copyright material from their website. However, as of September 7, 2006, they have not apologized for their actions, or undertaken not to infringe our intellectual property rights or present themselves as practicing the Crucible ® Approach again.
In our opinion, Kilpan & Associates may have breached the Code of Ethics of the New Zealand Association of Counselors, the New Zealand Psychologist Society, and the New Zealand Medical Association by misrepresenting their qualifications to practice the Crucible ® Approach, and misrepresenting an affiliation with Dr. Schnarch and the Marriage & Family Health Center on their website, www.kilpan.co.nz.
In our opinion, these misrepresentations amount to misleading conduct in trade in New Zealand, in breach of the Fair Trading Act 1986. We also consider Kilpan's activities to amount to an infringement of copyright in the www.passionatemarriage.com website, and an infringement of our intellectual property rights.
Summary
Kilpan & Associates is not associated with Dr. Schnarch, Dr. Morehouse or the Marriage & Family Health Center, and its therapists have not been trained or authorized to practice the Crucible® Approach or to use any intellectual property in the Crucible® Approach owned by Dr. Schnarch, Dr. Morehouse and the Marriage & Family Health Center.
The Marriage & Family Health Center regards the activities of Kilpan & Associates discussed above as a serious matter and has sought written assurances from Mr Lipanovic and Kilpan & Associates that these activities will not be repeated in the future. To date such assurances have not been forthcoming.
Thank you, in advance, for your understanding and continued support.
Dr. David Schnarch, Director
Marriage and Family Health Center of Evergreen, Colorado, USA