Copyright law protects “works” (such as audiovisual, visual, and written works) from being copied by another individual or business without permission.
MA’s audiovisual, visual, and written materials are all protected by copyright law. This includes, but is not limited to, the content of the MA’s service materials, including the Service Manual and handbooks, MA Conference-approved pamphlets, as well as the MA World Services website and app. Additionally included is MA’s literature: Life with Hope, the Life with Hope 12 Step Workbook, MA pamphlets, and the Twelve Questions (“Copyrighted materials”). The IP Policy addresses reprinting and screen-sharing MA’s Copyrighted materials by MA meetings, groups, regions, and districts in meetings.
Alcoholics Anonymous owns the copyrights to the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, and Twelve Concepts for Service. MA was granted express permission to use an adapted version of these. Making any additional modifications to these without express permission from A.A. infringes on A.A.’s copyright and risks damaging MA’s relationship with A.A. To make any changes to the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, the procedure for holding a “fellowship-wide vote” set forth in MA’s Service Manual and Bylaws must be utilized, and then MA World Services must seek additional permission from A.A.
The Service Manual (SM) authorizes, without a prior written request to do so, the sharing, or reproducing, of the following: MA’s Service Manual, Conference-approved pamphlets, the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, Twelve Concepts for Service, and Twelve Questions.
Sharing the entirety of Life with Hope, the Life with Hope Workbook, or MA’s daily reader Living Every Day with Hope, by making more than 25% of these works available for download, publishing these texts on the internet, or printing or reproducing the entire text, is a violation of MA’s copyrights, as well as the publishing agreements that MA has with Hazelden, the printer and distributor of these “works” (in English).
Prior written permission is not required to share brief quotes or excerpts (up to 25% of “the work”) from Life with Hope and the Life with Hope Twelve Step Workbook. The 25% limit does not apply to the MA app which contains the entirety of Life with Hope 2nd Edition and the Life with Hope Workbook.
Examples of unauthorized alterations that are strictly prohibited would include changing the text of the copyrighted Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, or changing the wording of any content being shared or read from Life with Hope, Conference-approved pamphlets, or any other of MA’s Copyrighted materials
When reprinting, excerpting, or screen-sharing from any of MA’s Copyrighted literature these materials may not be altered in any way (besides excerpting). Additionally, written credit must be included to avoid infringing on MA World Services’ copyrights. After a book or pamphlet quotation, the credit line should read: “Reprinted from (name of publication, page number), with permission of MA World Services.”