Court Said It Would Have "Changed The Status Quo" Prior To
Trial
On November 23, 2009, a Motion for Preliminary Injunction (PI)
filed against the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI)
by the Hills and Rich Stowell was heard in Los Angeles. The
injunction was not granted.
Following is a statement sent to ANN by the Hills:
"As the Court stated in its order, "[a] preliminary injunction
is not a preliminary adjudication on the merits: it is an equitable
device for preserving the status quo...." In the opinion of
the court, since our program has been offered through NAFI for
twelve years, the issuance of a PI would have changed the status
quo prior trial, rather than preserved it. However, denial of
the PI does not suggest that NAFI owns or otherwise has rights to
the intellectual property associated with our Master Instructor
Program (the Program). Nor does the ruling have any bearing
whatsoever on the outcome of the lawsuit for copyright infringement
we filed against NAFI in September. Rather, a jury will
decide the outcome of the case when it goes to trial.
We understood from the outset that a preliminary injunction is
an extraordinary remedy that is difficult to obtain. While
obtaining a preliminary injunction presented a daunting challenge,
we felt the benefits warranted the attendant risks of
proceeding. The goal of the injunction was to quickly stop
NAFI's illicit use of intellectual property associated with our
Program rather than waiting for the conclusion of potentially (if
not likely) protracted litigation.
Although we are disappointed with the outcome of the motion, the
yearlong process of defending our Program and the hard-earned
designations of hundreds of supportive Master Instructors have
advanced our cause. For example:
- The NAFI board has been forced to respond to our legitimate
concerns.
- NAFI has been forced to focus on the way it treats work product
created by its members. Members contributing work product to
NAFI deserve clarity about the way their intellectual property will
be treated. NAFI must realize that written agreements should
be obtained so that everyone is clear about the use and ownership
of copyrights.
- NAFI's website no longer inflates the number of Master
Instructors or misrepresents other credentials of its members.
- The US Copyright Office granted copyright registration for our
Program.
Applicants have reacted to the stark differences in customer
service between NAFI and Master Instructors LLC over the last few
months as well:
- NAFI's own data shows that 62 percent of Master applications
submitted to NAFI were subsequently withdrawn and/or resubmitted to
Master Instructors LLC for accreditation. In contrast, no
application sent to Master Instructors LLC during the same period
was withdrawn from us or resubmitted to NAFI.
- In documented cases, NAFI has taken months to process otherwise
routine applications, whereas Master Instructors LLC continues to
complete routine reviews in about two weeks.
- In other documented cases, NAFI has ignored repeated legitimate
requests from applicants to withdraw their portfolios and have
their application fees refunded. And in at least one case,
NAFI inexplicably denied a designation to a superbly qualified and
highly skilled applicant.
- Master Instructors LLC now offers five distinct Master
designations, whereas NAFI not only has reduced its available
designations, but it has also greatly narrowed their scope.
Moreover, NAFI did not initiate the copyright infringement
lawsuit -- we sued NAFI. It is telling that NAFI fails to
preemptively protect "its program" and the interests of its
members. In addition, as evidenced by its eleventh-hour
filing of an application to delay the PI hearing, many on the NAFI
board appear to recognize the tenuousness of their legal
status. No matter how NAFI spins it, it is clear that NAFI
dodged a bullet. Yet the board remains defiant; so much so
that NAFI has rejected all efforts by us to engage NAFI in
mediation. EAA President Tom Poberezny characterized similar
behavior by this board as "dysfunctional" when he attempted to
mediate the situation earlier this year.
In any event, we have made our point. We've been heard
loud and clear, and we've brought public awareness to the behavior
of the NAFI board. We continue to focus our efforts on our
decade-and-a-half long commitment to providing aviation educators
with the professional recognition they deserve. National
recognition made available through our Master Instructor Continuing
Education Program - aviation education's premier accreditation
program."