DANCESPORTCOMPS.COM - NEWSFLASH - April 6th, 2006
Arthur Murray Inc Trademarks 16 World Championship Dance Titles.

At a 2004 National Dance Council of America (NDCA) meeting Mr. Michael Mead presented a proposal, via the Professional Dancers Federation (PDF), that the NDCA create and run a World Professional Smooth and Rhythm Championships.

The first time the proposal was presented, Mr. Brian McDonald, President of the NDCA requested the motion be tabled, declining to provide an explanation for his request. At the following meeting the proposal was re-presented and this time, with Mr. Brian McDonald's support, the motion was passed.

It was decided at that meeting that the NDCA Executive committee would trademark the titles on behalf of the NDCA, and that the first NDCA World Championships were scheduled to be run in February 2005.

The first date upon which the NDCA sponsored World Championships were to be held was cancelled, and they were rescheduled for the September of 2005 Embassy Ball, a competition organized by Brian & Kristi Mc Donald, Tetsu Kezuka & Cheiko Yamamoto, Sam Sodano, & John Kimmins (Vice President & Director of Dance at Arthur Murray International as well as NDCA Championship and Competition Director.

This was done without consulting the member organizations, but it was explained to them that this presumptive action was taken only in order to protect the NDCA's trademarking of the Championship's names.

Between the 18th and 21st of March 2005, 16 World Championship titles covering all four styles and including Amateur Professional and Pro/Am competitions were trademarked on behalf of Arthur Murray Inc.

The titles trademarked by Arthur Murray Inc in March 2005 included the names World Smooth, Rhythm and Pro-Am Championships that were previously widely thought to have already been trademarked by the NDCA.

As previously mentioned, those events were actually danced in September 2005, supposedly under the auspices of the NDCA, at the Embassy Ball (co-organized in part by Brian McDonald (NDCA President) and John Kimmins (Vice President & Director of Dance at Arthur Murray International as well as NDCA Championship and Competition Director), despite, as it turns out, already having been trademarked by Arthur
Murray Inc in March 2005.

The first indications that this situation existed appears to have been when a Worlds Professional Rhythm Dance Championships event was held at a recent Arthur Murray competition. Arthur Murray competitions are closed to Arthur Murray employees only.

The winning couple at the Arthur Murray sponsored World Professional Rhythm Dance Championships subsequently competed in the San Francisco Open Professional Rhythm Championships this past weekend and placed sixth.

There has been no official statement as yet by the NDCA Executive Committee explaining exactly how this state of affairs came to pass.

Dancescape General Dance News & Discussions [read more]

STATEMENT FROM NDCA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ? April 7, 2005
?We are as surprised and shocked at this development as everyone else; the Executive Committee had no knowledge of any process under way by the Arthur Murray Organization to procure the registration or trademark of these titles.

In March 2004 NDCA initiated the procedure to register the titles ?World Pro-Am Championships? and ?World American Style Championships? and has been diligently moving forward as instructed by the law firm engaged to complete the registration. The most recent communication with the lawyer in this ongoing process was at the end of January of this year, following the January NDCA Board of Governors meeting.

Obviously, NDCA will investigate this matter fully, and, until such time as we are in possession of the details, we are not in a position to make further comment at this time.?

Response From The NDCA

To: ALL NDCA MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
FROM: NDCA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
RE: Registration:
WORLD PRO-AM CHAMPIONSHIPS
WORLD PROFESSIONAL SMOOTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
WORLD PROFESSIONAL RHYTHM CHAMPIONSHIPS

Date: MAY 1, 2006

As you are aware from discussions at the past several NDCA meetings regarding these titles, the EC has moved to trademark/register the above captioned championships for the NDCA. As a result of a requirement of this registration, these named events were held in September 2005 in California, and subsequent to that running, paperwork and required proofs of running were submitted to the US Patent & Trademark Office. This, and other actions taken to date in regard to the trademark application, was reported to the general body in some detail during the meeting of the Ballroom Department in January 2006. Considerable discussion was also entered into regarding these matters during an organizers meeting held immediately prior to the start of the NDCA January 2006 meetings.

In early April 2006, members of the Executive Committee learned from ?Dance Beat? that so-called ?World titles? had been run by the Arthur Murray organization during one of AMI?s intra-organization championships. This action provoked a furor of e-mail blasts, editorial comment, speculation, innuendo and accusations, many of which were pointed at the Executive Committee, and most of which was seemingly based upon supposition not fact.

The EC immediately issued a statement that it had no prior knowledge of these events and that it would investigate the matter and, at such time as it was in possession of the facts, would make a statement. The Patent & Trademark attorney, who is handling our registration of the marks, was contacted and informed of the situation and the attorney agreed to research the issue and report her findings to the EC.

Subsequently, this week the EC received a statement from the attorney which contained the following five points, all of which are quoted verbatim:

This report from the attorney corroborates fully the reports given to the Council by the President and officers of the EC in regard to this matter. Our applications for the marks in question are still ?live? and the EC has every intention of continuing to pursue them until their registration on behalf of NDCA is complete. The EC will continue to update the member organizations as and when it receives further information from either the PTO or the attorney for this matter.

As of April 24, 2006, the President has dissolved both the Championship Committee and the Finance Committee, these committee?s being by Presidential appointment. Both committees will be reconstituted as necessary at a future date, and, until such time as they are, the duties of the Championship Committee will be absorbed by the Ballroom Department of which it is an offshoot. The Finance Committee meets only prior to meetings and any urgent matters that may have come before the Finance Committee will be handled by the Treasurer?s office; as with unexpected matters of great import in any department or committee, any such finance committee issues will be sent to the presidents of the member organizations for their input and vote.

The EC has discussed extensively the possible need to reinstate a second meeting in 2006. However, since there are no constitutional matters pending that would require a meeting of the member organizations, and, in the light of the Patent & Trademark attorney?s report and the above action regarding the appointed committees, it is felt that it is not necessary to reschedule the summer meeting.