ROGD website shut down by trademark threat

On October 28, 2015, the Golden Dawn Order ROGD website was shut down by their ISP (internet service provider) upon the receivership of a notice from the lawyers of the AMORC (Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis).

The ISP was given a notice that the ROGD was engaged in "Trademark infringement, Unfair competition, and Deceptive trade practices concerning the ROSICRUCIAN ORDER phrase." Furthermore, the ISP was informed that no one has successfully stood up in court against AMORC. AMORC lawyers closed the notice with a note saying that the letter was written without prejudice (a funny sounding legal term) and that "[AMORC lawyers] look forward to your favorable replies by no later than November 15, 2015, including confirmation that you will no longer use or assist with the use on any website or otherwise of the phrase ROSICRUCIAN ORDER in or with any name or trademark."

Now, for those who do not know AMORC was a business for its founder; and at one time, advertised in all the major and most of the minor magazine markets. And I am positive that its current board is making a fair living from the Order.

(I have said it before and I will say it again--the use of trademarks makes an organization a business for the Head(s) of that organization, and is only used to make sure that an organization has the sole monopoly on a spiritual system. I only know of one instance, just one, where the taking out of and the defense of a trademark was not done for strictly business purposes. When trademarks come into play, spiritual organizations cease to be spiritual and become nothing more than money printing presses for the Head(s) of the trademarked Orders.)

When news of the ROGD website shutdown appeared on Facebook, AMORC members leaped to the defense of AMORC. Some AMORC members tried to get the notices taken down by arguing that the moderators and owners of various FB pages and groups were not doing their job and breaking the rules of FB groups. Some people reported the notices (FB and group moderators ignored the reports). And at least one AMORC member reported that a moderator under the "real name" policy (too bad for them that the moderator was actually using their real name).

Then when this kind of tactic failed, the AMORC members declared that this takedown had nothing to do with AMORC (in FB groups that are focused on Golden Dawn and general Rosicrucian studies) and that the notice had to be taken down on those grounds.

And when that failed to work, the mob declared that ROGD was actually guilty of deceptive spiritual practices because AMORC never takes other Rosicrucian Orders to court (funny, I know at least one such legal action has been taken, and the letter implies that such actions have indeed occurred). Furthermore, the defenders declared that AMORC is the one and only Rosicrucian Order in the world today....therefore, no one else is actually Roscicrucian.

All of which scores high on my "if it acts like a cult, it probably is" scale.

Just because you are a good person in an Order that claims to be spirtual, mystic, magical, or whatnot, that does not mean that the people at the top of the system are pure in spirit. And people pointing out the dubious behavior of the leadership of the organization you belong to is not an attack about you. But when you rush to the defense of such an Order, especially blindly, well, then we will point out that perhaps you are a little brainwashed. And what is the first sign of a cult?! Yeah, that's right---check your brain at the door.

The official announcement from the ROGD website.