As of the time of initially publishing on August 30th, 2022 this blog post foregoes judgements and/or conclusions; it’s simply to show the process of a cease and desist letter from a law firm in reference to that now essentially wiped blog post that only points back here along with multiple responses both to the lawyer involved as well as my attempt to forward our email exchange to anyone at tm.org only to be met with a response from the same lawyer who had gotten a hold of this attempt.
One might still be able to find this now removed blog post (and/or various locations of its contents) consisting mostly of publicly available internet material along with some words from me at/from various publicly available online archival services (and/or other online locations)
Below is the email thread and exchange in regular text formatted for a blog post:
Re: FW: RE: Trademark Infringement – Transcendental Meditation
From: Josh Dippold <integratingpresence@protonmail.com>
To: Jason Sytsma <JRS@ShuttleworthLaw.com>
Date: Sunday, August 28th, 2022 at 3:28 PM
wow
——- Original Message ——-
On Sunday, August 28th, 2022 at 5:54 AM, Jason Sytsma <JRS@ShuttleworthLaw.com> wrote:
Josh – Thank you for removing the content.
Warm regards,
Jason
Jason R. Sytsma
Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C.
115 3rd Street SE, Suite 500
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Phone: (319) 731-2216
Fax: (319) 365-8443
E-mail jrs@shuttleworthlaw.comhttp://www.shuttleworthlaw.com
From: josh dippold [integratingpresence@protonmail.com]
Sent: August 27, 2022 9:17 AM
To: rfarley@tm.org
Cc: postmaster@tm.org
Subject: Fw: RE: Trademark Infringement – Transcendental MeditationWholeness Robert Farley and whom it may concern:
I’m forwarding this to you as your email is the only TM email address I could find. Please start at the bottom of this my email thread with a lawyer claiming to represent TM and forward this email to the appropriate parties please. After I sent my last email to this individual I received no further response from him. Due to the nature of what is mentioned herewithin I request a response from (someone from) the TM organization please
Boundless blessings,
josh dippold
integratingpresence.com
——- Original Message ——-
On Wednesday, August 24th, 2022 at 6:24 PM, josh dippold <integratingpresence@protonmail.com> wrote:OK Jason R. Sytsma, if I may a little lighthearted joke before I remove this: so if I understand you correctly you’re saying, um, no bro, I’m a bigboy lawyerpants! Me and my people don’t like this josh so get rid of it or else! Neener-neener-neener!
Anyway you’ve basically just repeated yourself like a broken record, paid little heed to my intent and requests. I guess I could forward our exchange to “the Foundation.” Also, please check your first form letter at least partially seemingly spit out by a machine as it says “We expect you to comply with these demands on or before December 01, 2021” but now you’re saying “We insist that you immediately remove this webpage”. Which is it? The inaccurate date or the resending of initial insistence of removal by a time in the past at point of contact? Is any part of this email exchange non-human?
Other than calling on the phone to see if this Jason R. Sytsma is in fact a real living being, I obviously don’t plan to pursue this much further as such ridiculousness is not worth further time and effort
All the best,
josh dippold
integratingpresence.com
Sent with Proton Mail secure email.
——- Original Message ——-
On Wednesday, August 24th, 2022 at 9:42 AM, Jason Sytsma <JRS@ShuttleworthLaw.com> wrote:Josh – I’m legal counsel for the Foundation and acting on their authority. You are using without authorization the Foundation’s Transcendental Meditation trademark to promote your own version of meditation instruction. The Foundation cannot allow you to continue to infringe its trademark.
The Foundation protects its trademark in this manner to ensure a uniform, consistency of practice. All those who seek information on the TM program deserve accurate information about the TM program. By restricting use of the TM trademarks to only trained, licensed instructors, the Foundation can ensure uniform instruction and consistency in outcome. For these reasons, the Foundation enforces its trademark against unauthorized users.
You are free to promote other forms of meditation with other names. You are not free, however, to use the Foundation’s trademark. We insist that you immediately remove this webpage, else we will be forced to consider further legal action.
Sincerely,
JasonJason R. Sytsma
Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C.
115 3rd Street SE, Suite 500
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Phone: (319) 731-2216
Fax: (319) 365-8443
E-mail jrs@shuttleworthlaw.comhttp://www.shuttleworthlaw.com
From: josh dippold <integratingpresence@protonmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2022 9:13 AM
To: Jason Sytsma <JRS@ShuttleworthLaw.com>
Subject: RE: Trademark Infringement – Transcendental MeditationCYBERSECURITY WARNING : THIS EMAIL ORIGINATED FROM OUTSIDE OF SHUTTLEWORTH.
DO NOT CLICK LINKS, OPEN ATTACHMENTS, OR SHARE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION UNLESS YOU RECOGNIZE THE SENDER AND KNOW THE CONTENT IS SAFE.OK Jason Sytsma, is there any compromise here? Is there any other option other than removing the blog post? Have you relayed my changes to “The Foundation”? Also could you please let “The Foundation” know of the aforementioned questions please? Due to the nature of the material I request a reply from “The Foundation” about this directly please.
Boundless blessings,
josh dippold
integratingpresence.com
——- Original Message ——-
On Wednesday, August 24th, 2022 at 4:50 AM, Jason Sytsma <JRS@ShuttleworthLaw.com> wrote:Josh – Your update is unacceptable. There’s no exception for “research purposes” that would allow you to infringe the Foundation’s trademark. We insist that you remove the page.
Sincerely,
Jason
Jason R. Sytsma
Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C.
115 3rd Street SE, Suite 500
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Phone: (319) 731-2216
Fax: (319) 365-8443
E-mail jrs@shuttleworthlaw.comhttp://www.shuttleworthlaw.com
From: josh dippold <integratingpresence@protonmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2022 5:42 PM
To: Jason Sytsma <JRS@ShuttleworthLaw.com>
Subject: Re: Trademark Infringement – Transcendental MeditationCYBERSECURITY WARNING : THIS EMAIL ORIGINATED FROM OUTSIDE OF SHUTTLEWORTH.
DO NOT CLICK LINKS, OPEN ATTACHMENTS, OR SHARE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION UNLESS YOU RECOGNIZE THE SENDER AND KNOW THE CONTENT IS SAFE.Wholeness Jason Sytsma! I’ve updated the mentioned blog post with the following language:
8/23/2022 Disclaimer Update: This blog post is for research purposes only. I, nor this website, in zero ways intend to infringe upon the Transcendental Meditation trademark especially for competition as everything here and in real life is done on a donation basis with total income since inception being well under a few hundred dollars with expenses far exceeding that. Furthermore this blog post is to spark interest and encourage readers to visit http://tm.org to learn and find a teacher. I apologize for this oversight of not initially including such a disclaimer
Please let me know if this is sufficient to settle this matter.
Boundless blessings,
josh dippold
integratingpresence.com
Sent with Proton Mail secure email.
——- Original Message ——-
On Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022 at 2:56 PM, Jason Sytsma <JRS@ShuttleworthLaw.com> wrote:Dear Sir:
We represent Maharishi Foundation USA, Inc. (the “Foundation”). The Foundation holds the U.S. exclusive license for the registered service mark, “TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION”, U.S. Reg. No. 1,082,923. In connection with this mark, the Foundation is the exclusive source for educational services related to the teaching of a meditation program under the Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) trademarks in the United States.
The Foundation regards the “Transcendental Meditation” service mark as an enormously valuable asset. In order to preserve the integrity of this mark, and to maintain legal rights to it, the Foundation cannot allow unlicensed uses of this mark or uses of the mark in a manner that creates a likelihood of confusion.
We recently learned that you are using the term “Transcendence Meditation” to promote your own competing meditation instruction online at:
https://integratingpresence.com/2021/04/18/transendental-mediation-tm-mantra-variations/
The federal Lanham Act prohibits the use of any copy or colorable imitation of a federally registered trademark in a manner that is likely to cause confusion. You are using the Foundation’s trademark to promote your own meditation instruction. This constitutes trademark infringement
We insist that you remove immediately all reference to any “transcend-formative” words from your websites and advertising. This necessarily includes ceasing any further references to “Transcendental Meditation” or using “transcend” or “transcendence” when advertising meditation or other forms of instruction in personal development.
We expect you to comply with these demands on or before December 01, 2021, or contact the undersigned before that date and confirm that you are in the process of complying with our demands.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Jason R. Sytsma
Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C.
115 3rd Street SE, Suite 500
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Phone: (319) 731-2216
Fax: (319) 365-8443
E-mail jrs@shuttleworthlaw.com
Integrating Presence 
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