Thread: Important: Al-Anon Forum Members Please Read:
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Old 07-19-2004, 01:53 AM
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Jon
But Very, Very Bruisable...
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Palm Springs, Ca.
Posts: 548
Exclamation Important: Al-Anon Forum Members Please Read:
Hi everybody,

You may be wondering why this forum is no longer titled "Al-Anon." I want to be sure you get the facts, and that is the reason for this post.

Last Friday I received a cease and desist order from Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. through their attorneys, Ostrolenk, Faber, Gerb & Soffen, LLP in New York.

The name "Al-Anon" is a registered "mark", owned by Al-Anon. Also owned by Al-anon is the circle/triangle logo. They have the right to give, or not give, permission to use those marks. Over the years, Al-Anon has taken out many registrations for the AL-ANON Marks with the United States Trademark Office. In other words, Al-Anon has and continues to protect its marks.

So, what did we do wrong? Nothing that can't be fixed.

Let's start with the SoberRecovery Store. Although it's not really a store, and it's not really ours, the store carries various merchandise; mugs, tapes, books, and more stuff with the Al-Anon logo. I had always assumed that the various fellowships made their own stuff that is found at recovery stores. I was wrong. None of the Al-Anon merchandise in our store was licensed. The remedy is that this week, the company that we are partnered with in the store will be removing all merchandise in violation of Al-Anons trademark.

The "Al-Anon" Forum. Most of us made it a point to let people know, whether in posts or PM's, that SoberRecovery was NOT affiliated with Al-Anon, and that our online meetings were NOT official Al-anon meetings. It is Al-Anon's stance that use (mis-use) of the registered mark AL-ANON confuses users into mistakenly believing that Al-Anon is sponsoring the forums or that Al-Anon has approved the forums or that Al-Anon is affiliated with the forums. Our offered remedy is to change the name of the Forum, and to desist from using the name "Al-Anon" in Power Posts, Announcements, or by Moderators or Admins. As individuals/members, YOU have the right to free speech, and can say whatever you want. Keep in mind that this message board is anonymous; chances are high that you’re full name and contact info aren't even in your profile. Besides, the courts have ruled a vast majority of the time that someone wanting to find you for something you said or did on a message board can go pound sand. To clarify-SoberRecovery cannot use the Al-anon name at all; as an individual you can talk and post about your experience in Al-Anon, or lack of experience with Al-anon, anytime you wish.

The Daily Reading. According to their attorneys, the sale of literature is Al-Anons primary income. And that by posting passages from The Courage to Change and other Al-Anon literature, we take away income from Al-Anon that is needed for them to perform their service work. To remedy this demand, we have removed all of the daily readings, and we will work at finding an appropriate daily reading that does not infringe on anyone’s copyright.

Last but not least is the main site at SoberRecovery: Drug Rehab | Drug Addiction Treatment Center | Alcoholism | Addiction Mental Health | Directory Substance Abuse Detox Programs. Being a directory, we have lists of resources in various recovery categories. One of those categories is Al-Anon, and on that page are links to about 30 Al-Anon websites around the World. According to Al-anons attorneys,

"...the home page at SoberRecovery: Drug Rehab | Drug Addiction Treatment Center | Alcoholism | Addiction Mental Health | Directory Substance Abuse Detox Programs lists Al-Anon as a hyperlink at the bottom of the page. Clicking on that link leads to other Al-Anon related links for Information-Help-Support. Such unauthorized use of the Al-ANON name and mark leads to the mistaken impression that Al-Anon has approved the various links or that Al-Anon is associated with the linked web sites. All such unauthorized use of the mark AL-ANON must cease without delay."

Here's where it gets weird. The links and websites on that page ARE associated with Al-anon, and while I have no idea if they were approved or not, the websites all have domains like Anne Arundel CTY AIS (Maryland Al-Anon), Welcome to Dallas Al-Anon Information Service (Dallas Texas Area), and Welcome to the Greater Seattle AIS Website (Seattle Al-Anon). Those sound pretty official to me. The Al-Anon directory in SoberRecovery is simply a list of where and how to find Al-Anon, with Redirect (The Al-Anon and Ala-Teen Official Site) as the first link. On this last item I have no remedy to offer.

Since receiving the letter last Friday I have experienced an entire range of emotions. And I’ve been given a very wide range of advice. If I didn’t take your suggestion, please don’t take it personal. I had to realize that this is not about Al-Anon versus SoberRecovery; it’s about Trademark and Copyright. That understanding made this whole thing a little easier to swallow; even when I can’t help but do the math and calculate how many of your “dollars in the basket� it’s taking to pay the New York Attorneys. And it’s sad that Al-Anon is paying them to tell us to stop fostering a desire to attend Al-Anon.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to post them here. You can also reach the Forums Team by email at [email protected].

And if you would like to get in touch with Al-Anon, you can write or call them at:

Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters
1600 Corporate Landing Parkway
Virginia Beach, Va. 23454-5617

757-563-1600
757-563-1655 (fax)

Email: [email protected]

Thanks for being here. I’m glad you found us, and I’m glad you stayed.

Jon
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