a. MA World Services is Entrusted by MA’s Foundation Documents with the Responsibility Making Final Decisions Regarding World Services’ Business and Finances, Including Following the Advice of its Lawyers (KEEP a and b)
MA World Services is the nonprofit corporate entity that MA’s Bylaws, Conference Charter, and Articles of Incorporation (See Service Manual, Version 8.0, Appendix I: Founding Documents) has vested with responsibility over the legal aspects of operating MA. It owns Marijauana Anonymous’ Intellectual Property (consisting of copyrights to MA literature, and trademarks, including the MA name and logo) on behalf of the entire society of MA. The Concepts for Service states that the Board of Trustees is “entrusted with the responsibility of making final decisions regarding general World Service business and finances.” (Eighth Concept for Service).
The Board of Trustees hired an intellectual property attorney to assist with re-filing its trademarks and provide legal advice. The lawyer advised that to protect its intellectual property, MA World Services should implement these policies and procedures. Under the Concepts for Service, the Board is duty-bound to follow the advice of its lawyer on how to best manage its intellectual property rights.
The attorney advised that MA World Services enter into written agreements granting express permission to anyone using the MA Trademark of the MA name or logo, including MA members and entities, such as meetings, groups, regions and districts that use the logo on their websites, flyers advertising recovery-based events, on recovery-based chips, on merchandise for the annual Convention, or other uses that are in furtherance of MA’s primary purpose of “carrying the message.” (Tradition Five)
b. Legally, MA Entities are Distinct and Separate from the Corporate Entity of MA World Services, and so, Licensing Agreements are Required for MA Entities to Use the MA Name and Logo
In the eyes of the law, MA members, groups, meetings and districts (“MA entities”) are legally separate from the nonprofit charitable corporation of MA World Services, Inc. that was formed to manage the business and financial affairs for the society of MA. Therefore, those MA entities are not considered owners of MA’s Trademarks. In order for World Services to maintain its trademarks rights and the right to enforce them against outside third-parties who might use them in confusing, detrimental, or harmful ways, MA World Services must take active steps to protect MA’s Trademarks, including by entering into licensing agreements with MA entities who wish to use MA’s name or logo, and placing reasonable limits on the use of MA’s trademarks.
In deciding whether to recognize a trademark, the U.S. PTO looks to, among other things, whether or not the legal owner of the trademark is taking steps to protect their trademark. Implied permission to use the MA name and logo, as existed before, is legally insufficient to protect MA World Services’ ownership of MA’s trademarks on behalf of the fellowship of MA..
Under IP law, any owner of a trademark who fails to take steps to enforce their trademark right risks losing ownership of the mark with the U.S. PTO (which is currently re-evaluating MA’s Trademarks). This could in turn result in MA being unable to stop someone with ill intentions from using MA’s trademarks in detrimental ways that trivialize the MA program, confuse MA members, harm MA’s reputation or imply an endorsement of an outside brand, product or organization by MA in violation of the Sixth Tradition – all matters that greatly affect MA as whole (an exception to the otherwise broad autonomy under the Fourth Tradition.)
Therefore, to show the U.S. PTO that MA does protect its trademarks, and allow MA to continue to enforce its trademark rights against outside third parties, it must only allow others to use them if there is a written licensing agreement in place granting the members, meeting, group, region, district or outside third-party express permission to use the MA Trademarks in particular and specific ways.
If MA World Services were to allow MA entities to freely use the MA name or logo without express written permission, an outside third party could argue (in court or before the U.S. PTO) that since MA does not enforce its trademark rights and freely allows MA entities to use the trademarks however they wish, any outside entity should also be free to use the MA trademarks without permission however they wish. If this were to occur, MA would likely lose its rights to the MA trademarks. This would be harmful to MA because these IP rights are a vital asset to MA, and more importantly, allowing outside third parties to use MA’s trademarks in ways that are confusing to members, or harmful to the MA program that is represented by the MA name and logo would interfere with MA’s ability to “carry the message” of recovery, a matter that greatly affects MA as a whole.