MA’s Intellectual Property and Licensing Agreement Policies & Procedures (2024)

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.”

A trademark is a symbol and/or word(s) used to represent an organization like MA, or a business or its products. Once registered, that same symbol or series of words cannot legally be used by any other organization.

Unlike Copyrights, which do not need to be “registered,” trademarks are registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“U.S. PTO”), and the 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable corporate entity of MA World Services, Inc. owns MA’s trademarks, on behalf of the entire fellowship of MA, as the legal entity responsible for managing the business and financial affairs of MA. (See the Eighth Concept for Service)

MA’s Trademarks are defined as the phrase “Marijuana Anonymous” and the “MA logo” consisting of the letters “MA” inside a triangle (shown below), and includes all word, abbreviation, style, and design variations used to date by MA (the “MA Trademarks”).

A licensing agreement, or license, is a written contractual agreement between the owner of a trademark, copyright, or patent granting another party permission to use that intellectual property in a particular and specific way.

Anyone who wishes to use the MA name or logo, or its literature in a way other than those uses expressly allowed by the Service Manual, must get explicit written permission from MA World Services in the form of a licensing agreement.

These agreements between MA World Services and MA entities will be written as broadly as possible, and will be freely granted for any proposed uses of the MA Trademarks that aid in “carrying the message” of recovery consistent with MA’s “primary purpose,” such as on their websites, some flyers, or on chips ordered by the group or district. (Tradition Five)

Although within MA, we consider MA members, meetings, groups, regions and districts (“MA entities”) to be a part of MA World Services, under the law they are separate from the legal corporate entity of MA World Services. Accordingly, those MA entities need express written permission from World Services to use MA’s Trademarks as the implicit permission that has existed in the past is legally insufficient. We expect that it will only be necessary to sign such agreements once, unless there is a significant change in the future.

Licensing agreements can also be entered into with outside third-parties. For example, a licensing agreement could allow a publishing company to publish and distribute MA World Services’ copyrighted literature, or allow a chip manufacturer to make products, such as recovery-based chips, with MA’s Trademarks of the logo and/or name.

MA World Services has a duty to guard the interests of the fellowship now and in the future. If World Services did not enforce our trademarks and copyrights within the organization, an outside entity could argue in court that we don’t care who uses them or how, therefore any outside entity should be allowed to use them however they like too. In a lot of ways, they would be correct.

We could then lose control of our trademarks that represent the identity of the MA program. Outside entities could then freely misuse MA’s name and logo to confuse members, trivialize the MA program, harm MA’s reputation, or imply an endorsem*nt by MA of an outside enterprise, in violation of the Sixth Tradition.

By taking active steps to protect MA’s intellectual property and enforce MA’s trademarks, MA World Services ensures any use of the MA name and logo, which have come to represent the MA program, does not interfere with MA’s ability to fulfill its primary purpose, and “carry the message” of recovery. Tradition Five. The loss of its copyright and trademark rights, and the misuse of the MA name, logo, and literature that could then follow, would greatly affect MA as a whole.

The nonprofit corporation of MA World Services exists to manage the business and financial affairs of MA on behalf of the society of the MA fellowship. (See MA’s Bylaws and other Foundation Documents available in Service Manual Ver. 8.0, Appendix I: Foundation Documents. Under the 12 Concepts for Service, MA’s Board of Trustees are “entrusted with the responsibility of making final decisions regarding general World Service business and finances.” (Concept Eight).)

Although MA groups, meetings, regions and districts (“MA entities”) are generally autonomous under the Twelve Traditions, that autonomy is limited in matters that “affect MA as a whole.” (Tradition Four). MA World Services’ failure to take the necessary steps as instructed by legal counsel to ensure it retains all legal rights to the MA name and logo could lead to MA losing the right to enforce its trademark against potentially harmful uses that might confuse or harm MA members, trivialize the MA program, or harm MA’s reputation.

Because these are issues that greatly “affect MA as a whole,” and interfere with its primary purpose of carrying the message of recovery to marijuana addicts, they are an exception to the generally broad autonomy granted by the Twelve Traditions. MA World Services is therefore acting consistently with MA’s Twelve Traditions, Twelve Concepts for Service, and other policies and procedures and foundation documents by taking the legal advice of its hired legal counsel, and entering into licensing agreements granting MA entities express permission to use the MA Trademarks in writing. (Traditions Four & Five) (Concepts for Service Eight).

However, despite its responsibility to protect the MA Trademarks on behalf of the fellowship of MA, MA World Services is mindful of MA’s “inverted pyramid” structure, the lack of any hierarchy in MA, and MA’s Twelve Traditions, including the broad grant of autonomy to MA entities. Therefore, MA World Services will freely and broadly license the use of the MA name and logo to MA entities on, or in connection with, uses that aid in carrying the message of recovery (Tradition Five) and will only deny uses that trivialize the MA program, confuse or harm MA members, harm MA’s reputation, or otherwise interfere with “carrying the message” of recovery.

Examples of the types of use of the MA Trademarks which might not be permitted would include, use of the MA name or logo on, or in connection with: (1) images or products that are very poor in quality; (2) social events that lack any recovery-based component; (3) uses that include profanity or other inappropriate messages; or (4) uses in conjunction with other trademarks or logos in a manner that may suggest endorsem*nt or connection with an outside enterprise by MA, in violation of Tradition Six. This list is not exhaustive, and a license to use the MA name or logo in a particular way may be denied for other reasons not specified here, but MA World Services is committed to granting broad licenses to entities within our fellowship, as is consistent with the principles of the inverted pyramid and the broad principle of autonomy. Each use will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

This applies to any use of MA’s Trademarks (of the MA name and logo), including, but not limited to, its use on:

• Commercial Use: any goods or merchandise e.g. milestone recovery-based coins, chips, tokens or medallions, mugs, t-shirts, or other merchandise; any Convention-related merchandise; (whether produced by a third-party or outside vendor or made, ordered or commissioned by MA members, groups, meetings or districts, including Convention hosts who can also enter into separate Agreements relating to their use of the MA name and logo for the Convention);
• Public Information: websites, social media, memes, flyers, business cards; advertising MA groups meetings, regions or districts;
• Letterhead: used for providing attendance verification for members, or used in connection with local H&I and/or PI efforts, such as sending information about MA and local MA groups and meetings to addiction, mental health, and other healthcare professionals
• Events: Flyers for workshops, sober-thons, and any other fellowship gatherings
• Marketing Materials: advertising any of the previously listed goods or merchandise for sale or upcoming events not hosted by MA World Services or other means of advertising the sale of merchandise with the MA Trademark

MA’s IP Policies and Procedures, and the Service Manual, state, in part:

“any member, group/meeting, or district/region that seeks to use MA’s Trademarks… must obtain the express permission from MA World Services for the uses listed below by contacting [emailprotected] and signing a basic written licensing agreement granting specific permission…”

“MA World Services’…policy is to allow members, groups, meetings, districts, and regions to use the MA name and logo freely, provided it is being used properly in support of MA’s primary purpose of helping the marijuana addict who still suffers, and in ways that will not harm MA’s reputation.”

“It is legally necessary for MA World Services to obtain signed written agreements from anyone currently using the MA name or logo, or anyone who intends to do so in the future for any purpose, including but not limited to, the following uses on: websites; flyers or other promotional materials for fellowship activities, including Conventions, Soberthons, Mini-Conventions, workshops, or any other non-World Services gatherings or events; “t-shirts, other clothing, mugs or any other similar merchandise (including those items produced for MA Conventions); or on milestone recovery-based chips, coins, medallions or any other similar products.”

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 endorsem*nt 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.

This current policy actually expands the permitted uses of the MA Trademarks of the MA name and logo from the prior policy in the Service Manual (“SM”). Current and prior versions of the SM have prohibited the use of the MA name and logo in connection with social or fellowship activities, and did not address the use of the MA logo on websites, social media, merchandise, letterhead, or milestone chips. Many of these uses have become standard practice within our fellowship due to changes in technology that have increased the accessibility of creating websites or social media sites, or the ability to easily order merchandise with anything you want to put on it (see SM 8.0, Ch 15: Events, p. 34).

The policy in the SM needed updating to clarify that these current uses of our name and logo are allowed, provided there’s a written agreement in place. MA World Services prepared the IP Policy as a result of the legal advice received, and has proposed revisions to the SM so that it will accurately reflect the IP Policy, and provide more guidance on the use of the MA name and logo.

These updates to the SM make clear that MA World Services now requires ANYONE (including MA members, meetings, groups, districts, regions and Convention hosts or outside third-parties) to obtain express written permission (in the form of a licensing agreement) to use the MA Trademark of the MA name or logo, whether on merchandise, such as milestone chips, t-shirts or other merchandise; flyers, including those advertising MA meetings, workshops, soberthons or fellowship events with a recovery-based component, such as a speaker or meeting; on letterhead for attendance verifications or in furtherance of Public Information or Hospitals & Institutions efforts;; and on any websites or social media pages for groups, meetings, regions, districts, or events, such as Conventions.

The primary goal of MA World Services’ IP policy is to protect and preserve MA’s legal rights to its trademarks, therefore maintaining MA World Services’ ability to enforce its Trademarks to prevent or stop any use of the MA name or logo that could be confusing to members, trivialize the MA program, or is otherwise detrimental or harmful to MA’s reputation.

Additional goals include: (1) to allow recovery based milestone chips, coins, tokens and medallions to be freely available, while protecting MA’s Trademarks on behalf of the fellowship of MA, and (2) to allow meetings, groups, regions and districts to use the MA name and logo broadly and freely in ways that aid in “carrying the message” of recovery, including by using the logo on, or in connection with some flyers, websites, social media and other uses expressly allowed by written Licensing Agreements that do not harm MA’s reputation.

MA World Services was advised by its legal counsel that if it did not enter into licensing agreements with MA entities, the U.S. PTO might revoke its trademark rights (which are currently subject to review by the U.S. PTO due to a re-application). MA World Services has a duty and responsibility to protect MA’s legal rights on behalf of the fellowship in furtherance of “carrying the message” of recovery. (Tradition Five). Having legally strong policies and procedures will help prevent infringement, unnecessary lawsuits and other legal actions that would take resources away from MA’s primary purpose, and interfere with MA’s ability to effectively “carry the message.” As MA continues to grow, the possibility that MA might be the subject of even a meritless legal action increases, so MA World Services has a duty to follow the advice of its hired experts and legal counsel to reduce the likelihood that this may occur.

MA World Services attempts to manage MA’s IP in such a way that will best benefit the fellowship of MA, help carry MA’s message of recovery, prevent uses that trivialize the MA program or dilute the MA Trademarks that have come to represent the MA program of recovery, and avoid any harm to MA’s reputation. In applying this IP Policy, the Board carefully balances the 12 Traditions, 12 Concepts for Service, and other principles of MA’s program of recovery with the legal requirements of the U.S. PTO and international equivalents, and the advice of its legal counsel, and will not attempt to exert excessive “control” over MA’s IP any more than is legally and practically necessary to protect MA’s trademark and copyright rights.

MA World Services’ policy is to freely allow members, groups, meetings, districts, and regions (“MA entities”) to use the MA name and logo, provided it is being used properly in support of MA’s primary purpose of helping the marijuana addict who still suffers, and in ways that will not harm MA’s reputation. For example, some uses of the MA trademarks of the phrase “Marijuana Anonymous” and/or the MA logo, that would likely be allowed under MA World Services’ standard written licensing agreement, include, but are not limited to::

• Using the MA name or logo on a MA group/meeting or region/district website in connection with providing information about: the MA program, such as finding meetings, getting MA literature, being of service, meeting/group resources, business meeting resources, and other content related to its function as a group/meeting or region/district of MA.
  • A note on Social Media: MA meeting/group or region/district social media sites, such as on Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram, may be permitted to use the MA name and/or logo, provided that they also serve the above-listed functions of being in furtherance of the meeting or district’s role in carrying the message of recovery, and do not primarily post “memes” or other similar material that may trivialize the MA program, or harm MA’s reputation (such as by including profanity, or otherwise making light of the MA program – which could deter some marijuana addicts from seeking recovery)
  • A meeting/group or region/district may create a social media site that is “unofficial” and does not use the MA trademarks of the name or logo, and it will not be covered by the IP policies. So long as the social media site is not easily confused with being an official MA page, or is otherwise confusing to members by using a similar logo or name. If it is sufficiently distinct from MA’s webpage or social media by not using the MA name or logo, that will likely not violate MA’s IP policy. However, due to the nature of social media, these uses may need to be reviewed on a case by case basis – especially if the social media site chooses to use the MA name and/or logo.
  • If using the MA name and logo on a website for a MA district, region, group or meeting, the webmaster should be cautious regarding any advertising that is included on the website, either automatically by the site’s web host, or otherwise. If the MA name and/or logo are used near or in conjunction with ads for other organizations, goods, or services, it could improperly signal or suggest an endorsem*nt in violation of the Sixth Tradition. For this reason, when possible any district, region, group or meeting websites that use MA’s trademarks should avoid the addition of any advertising.
• using the MA name and logo on flyers advertising MA meetings or events that include recovery-based activities, such as a speaker, soberthon or workshop; or
  • MA entities are free to organize primarily social fellowship events that do not have a recovery-based component (such as Holiday Parties or Talent Shows) – they simply cannot use the MA trademarks of the name or logo on any flyers or other materials advertising the event.
  • Some MA district’s avoid misuse or confusion that could be caused by using MA’s trademarks by saying social or fellowship-only events are hosted by “friends of MA” without using the MA logo, on any flyer. This avoids any potential violations of the SM or IP policies.
• On letterhead relating to providing members with attendance verifications;
  • Note: having verifications be on letterhead with the MA logo is not required for verifications to be effective, and the trusted servant who is responsible for signing attendance verifications may usually sign with their first name and last initial only, and not their full name, depending on the situation).
  • Also, please be sure that if the letterhead includes an address, you use a local address for the group, meeting, region or district (if providing any at all). Do not use MA World Services’ contact information on attendance verifications, as MA World Services is unable to verify anyone’s attendance;
• On letterhead relating to the Hospitals & Institutions or Public Information efforts of a meeting/group or region/district, including communications with recovery facilities, institutions, or mental health, addiction or recovery professionals about how to find local MA meetings if needed for their patients;
• MA entities with a valid licensing agreement may generally commission or order milestone chips, coins, tokens or medallions with the MA name or logo from third-party companies for distribution within their meeting, group, region or district. However, the licensing agreement that authorizes a group or district to order chips with the MA logo on them does not extend to authorize the third-party to continue to make chips or post MA chips for sale on their website aside from fulfilling the order from the MA entity with the licensing agreement;
  • This is similar to ordering business cards on a website such as Vistaprint or Zazzle using a personal or business logo. The site does not need to have a licensing agreement to fulfill your order, but they cannot then post on their websites products with your personal or company logo on them for sale
  • Any chip manufacturer (whether member-formed or a third-party) who wants to make and distribute or sell chips should enter into a separate licensing agreement by contacting [emailprotected]
  • If members within a district or region that has signed a licensing agreement want to make their own chips to give away or distribute within their meetings or district/region (and not post for sale online), they are authorized by the agreement to do so because the licensing agreement extends to “registered groups and meetings” and their members within the region or district that signed the agreement.
• Use of the MA name or logo on bumper stickers or other materials that tend to trivialize the MA program (by, for example, containing inappropriate language or insinuations) will generally not be permitted. However, this is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, so it is recommended that anyone who wants to make a product like these using the MA name or logo contact [emailprotected] to explain the proposed use, and ask if it is permissible.
• Use of the MA logo on recovery-based milestone tokens, chips or coins either made by member-formed or outside third-party chip manufacturers (provided they meet basic quality standards) will generally be authorized upon request. However, they are not authorized by an existing MA entities’ general licensing agreement, and a token/chip manufacturer (whether member-formed, or an outside third-party) must enter into their own separate written licensing agreement with MA World Services to use the MA name and/or logo on milestone chips, coins, tokens, medallions or any other products or merchandise.

Each proposed use of the MA name and logo should be evaluated on a case by case basis to ensure it does not harm MA’s reputation, confuse MA members, dilute the MA trademarks (which have come to represent the program of MA) or trivialize the MA program. Uses that are in furtherance of “carrying the message” of recovery, and are not detrimental to MA’s reputation are generally permissible, especially when requested by an MA member, meeting, group, region or district (the entities who MA World Services holds MA’s trademark rights on behalf of) and when it is to support their efforts as MA entities.

Similarly, when evaluating proposed third-party uses of MA’s trademarks, MA World Services will carefully consider the needs and best interests of the fellowship. For example, MA World Services acknowledges the importance of having a variety of different recovery-based milestone coins, chips, tokens and medallions available at a wide-range of price points and quality levels. Therefore, MA World Services has, and will continue to permit third party chip manufacturers to license use of MA’s trademark for the purpose of making a variety of different chips available to MA members at a range of price-points and quality levels (such as cheaper plastic chips, mid-level aluminum chips, customizable handmade wooden, ceramic or wood burned chips, and more expensive heavier metal coins), provided the quality is not below average, or otherwise harmful to MA’s reputation.

Yes, the License or Permission to use the MA Trademarks granted by MA World Services’ general Licensing Agreement for regions and districts specifically extends to include all registered groups and meetings within the region or district (that want to be included). The Agreement defines “registered” groups or meetings as those that are:

1. registered on the MA World Services’ websites “Meeting Finder,” for finding MA meetings, as being within the region or district that signed the Agreement; or
2. listed on the region or district’s website as being a group or meeting that is a part of that region or district that signed a Licensing Agreement with MA World Services; or
3. participate regularly in the region or district’s Region/District Service Committee (“RSC” or “DSC”) meetings by sending an authorized “Group Service Representative” (“GSR”) from the group or meeting to the RSC or DSC meetings. (NUMBERED BULLET ITEM 1., 2., OK)

The important factor is that the region or district knows that the group or meeting is part of its region or district, and is able to contact and communicate with that group or meeting regarding the licensing agreement, and any use of the MA Trademarks by the group or meeting, if needed,

MA World Services acknowledges that some groups and meetings may not wish to be posted on the MA World Services “Meeting Finder” or a region or district’s website(s) to protect their meeting from unwanted disruptions. Those meetings and groups may still be covered by the licensing agreements, provided that the region or district knows of the group or meeting, or maintains contact info for those groups and meetings that would allow the region or district to easily contact the meeting or group about their use of the MA Trademarks, or other terms of this Agreement. The key determination in deciding whether a group is covered by a district’s agreement is whether or not MA World Services is easily able to contact and communicate with the group or meeting about the terms of the licensing agreement and their use of the MA name or logo.

In order for groups or meetings to be included within the region or district’s agreement, MA World Services must be able to easily obtain information about which meetings and groups are part of the region or district when needed. This is so that MA World Services can communicate with meetings or groups that a region or district’s agreement extends to about its terms and their uses of the MA Trademarks, and whether any uses need to be corrected, either by contacting the group or meeting directly, or through contacting the region or district that signed the Licensing Agreement with MA World Services.

Meetings or groups that do not meet the above definitions of a “registered” meeting within a district or region, or are otherwise not part of a region or district who wish to the use the MA name or logo still are able to do so, they just need to enter into their own separate licensing agreements with MA World Services by contacting [emailprotected].

MA World Services hired attorneys specializing in Intellectual Property (IP) law to assist it with re-registering its Trademarks in 2023. As part of this process, MA’s IP attorneys advised MA World Services to prepare a policy and licensing agreements for those who want to use the logo. Similarly, when the Chips Committee reached out to outside third-party chip manufacturers, they too required that MA show legal ownership of its own Trademarks before it took on the cost and effort of making the plates needed to make MA chips. So, if MA lost the rights to its trademark due to a failure to enter into licensing agreements with meetings, groups and districts, it could also detrimentally affect MA’s ability to have MA chips made. As MA has rapidly grown in recent years, the amount of legal scrutiny on the legal, business and financial affairs has also grown, making it more important than ever for MA World Services to work with experts and ensure our operations remain in line with all the requirements to continue operating effectively as a non-profit corporation.

This is also an expansion of the prior written policy in the Service Manual, which did not allow for any use of the MA name or logo on flyers, and did not address using the MA logo on websites, or on milestone chips. As a result of the lack of information, the policy needed updating.

This aspect of the policy (prohibiting use of the MA name and logo for social events) is not new. The Service Manual, Ver. 8.0, Chapter 14 – Events on p. 34 explains that “In keeping with the Fourth Tradition, MA World Services recognizes that it has no right to control the activities of Districts/Regions and individual meetings. Therefore, DSCs/RSCs and meetings/groups are free to have social events of their own choosing, however, the MA name may not be used on any flyers or other promotional materials for social or fellowship-only events. Additionally, as stated in Tradition 5 of Life with Hope, it is recommended that “a meeting or recovery-oriented workshop is held at social events. The only Marijuana Anonymous approved activities are meetings, District/Region Service Committee meetings, the MA World Service Conference and MA Convention.”

However, now with the new IP policy and proposed additions to this section of the SM there is a way for groups, meetings, regions and districts to get permission to use the MA name and logo on flyers for certain types of events, provided they have a “meeting or recovery-oriented workshop” and not purely social in nature. If groups have a licensing agreement with MA World Services that includes flyers for recovery-oriented events, they’re free to use the logo in that way (provided the event somehow aids in carrying the message of recovery).

Groups are also still free under the Fourth Tradition to hold social events; however, they just cannot use the MA name or logo on flyers for those events since these can trivialize the MA program and are not recovery based. Recognizing that groups, meetings, districts and regions do hold recovery-oriented workshops – such as a soberthons or workshops – World Services wanted to update the policy to allow the MA name and logo to be used under those circ*mstances that are related to MA’s program of recovery, and aid in “carrying the message” as is our primary purpose. (Tradition Five).

Our Sixth Tradition states “MA groups ought never endorse, finance, or lend the MA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.” For this reason, MA cannot endorse any particular chip manufacturer or other outside enterprise.

Similarly, MA is unable to get into the business of making products with the MA logo itself, first because MA World Services is made up of a small group of volunteers, who juggle their service to MA with their own recovery, families, school responsibilities, careers, jobs and personal lives. These few volunteers are quite simply unable to manage the production of MA merchandise while also supporting the society of MA by not only supporting MA members, meetings, groups, regions and districts, but also by managing its financial, business and legal affairs as provided for by its bylaws. To get involved in the production of MA merchandise itself, such as by making recovery-based chips, coins, tokens or medallions for sale, could also cause “problems of money, property, and prestige” to “divert us from our primary purpose” in violation of the Sixth Tradition.

However, knowing the importance to MA members of having recovery-based chips, coins, tokens and medallions with the MA logo on them available, MA World Services has a Chips Committee that communicates with larger chip manufacturers and attempts to negotiate licensing agreements to have them produce MA chips. To contact the Chips Committee, email [emailprotected]

Meetings, groups, regions and districts who have signed a licensing agreement with MA World Services are also free to make themselves, or order or commission a third-party outside manufacturer to make chips bearing the MA logo. However, they must only order chips for distribution within their district, and the third-party company cannot sell chips with the MA logo on their own websites or social media without entering into their own separate licensing agreement with MA World Services.

No, the signer of the licensing agreement would not be liable for any violations of the IP policy by having signed the agreement. This is because whoever signs the agreement will not be signing as an individual, but “on behalf” of their district, region or meeting, and in their capacity as the district’s chairperson, webmaster, delegate, or whichever position they hold in the district (or region or independent meeting.)

It is like when MA’s President Trustee also signs things on behalf of MA World Services in their capacity as President. They do not become personally liable for any actions taken within MA. They are signing “as MA World Services.” A corporation like MA World Services, or an entity like a MA district/region, cannot sign as the corporation or entity – an adult must sign on behalf of the corporation or entity. Likewise, anyone who signs licensing agreements granting districts, regions, or independent meetings permission to use MA’s trademarks of the MA name and logo, will be signing on behalf of, or “as” their service position for the district, region, or group that they represent, and they will not be held personally liable for any violations of MA’s IP Policy.

The person who signs on behalf of the district must sign their legal first and last name for the agreement to be considered legally valid, However, it will be maintained by World Services confidentially in the confidential legal folder on the MA drive, so that only the legal department (lawyers on the board, and/or 1-2 Board members such as the President and P&P Trustee) can see the names.

The agreements will not be filed or shared anywhere publicly, and will only be used in connection with litigation challenging whether MA World Services adequately enforces and/or places reasonable limits on the use of its trademarks (which is almost certainly to not happen!) If a third-party using MA’s trademarks in detrimental ways were to argue that MA does not have licensing agreements, World Services may need to submit the signed agreements to the Court or U.S. PTO to demonstrate that MA World Services does take adequate steps to enforce and protect its trademarks. These agreements may need to be shown to the U.S. PTO to “prove” World Services enforces their IP rights, or to auditors, but those limited purposes for sharing the agreements will also be done confidentiality.

In the highly unlikely event that the licensing agreements need to be used in court in litigation, MA World Services will take all steps to protect the anonymity of the signer. Wherever possible, MA World Services will redact the last names (and if possible, full names) of the Trusted Servants who sign the agreements, and/or file the agreements with the Court “under seal” (meaning only the judge can see the names) so they are not made publicly available. The Court will almost certainly agree to any steps taken to protect anonymity. World Services also is requesting the contact information for anyone who signs an agreements so they can contact the Trusted Servants who signed licensing agreements to notify them of any litigation resulting in the need to submit the agreements, and keep them apprised of the steps being taken to protect their anonymity.

However, if someone – like a District Chairperson – is not comfortable signing or unable to sign their full legal name for any reason, another Trusted Servant serving on the DSC, RSC or in any capacity for the group/meeting can sign on behalf of the district, region, or meeting/group. Any Trusted Servant can sign the agreement, and it does not need to be signed by a certain role, e.g. District Chairperson or Internet Chair or Webmaster. It is within the autonomy of the district, region or group to decide who will sign the agreements.

Yes, international districts, regions and independent groups still need to sign a licensing agreement to use the MA trademarks of the name logo. And no, the general policies regarding the proper (and improper) uses of MA’s IP are not different from those for United States districts/regions.

Although this gets more complicated than is covered by this FAQ, MA enforces its intellectual property rights internationally, and is in the process of ensuring its IP is properly registered outside of the United States. MA’s Trademarks are valid internationally, and can legally be licensed for use by another using a licensing agreement between MA World Services, incorporated in the United States, and any member, group, meeting, region or district located in another country, may enter into an agreement to use their intellectual property subject to the terms they agree to.

There are a few standard contract terms that will need to be different in international written licensing agreements to ensure the contract is enforceable in each country, but despite these minor differences, the overall terms of licensing agreements with a meeting, group, region or district outside of the United States to use the MA name and logo will be the same as in an agreements between two United States parties. The proper and improper uses of MA’s name and logo (and copyrighted material) remain the same for international districts and regions as in the United States districts/regions.

However, because these agreements will need to be slightly different and may vary from country to country, please be patient to allow our volunteers at MA World Services who are drafting these licensing agreements in connection with MA’s Intellectual Property lawyers extra time to ensure that all the international agreements are written correctly so that they are enforceable internationally.

For the purposes of using MA’s Intellectual Property, international districts, regions, groups and meetings outside of the United States should still ensure that they adhere to the same policies, and permitted or prohibited uses of MA’s trademarks and copyrighted materials, as explained more fully in MA’s IP Policy.

MA has adapted the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts for Service for use in MA with express permission from Alcoholics Anonymous. A.A. is the copyright holder for these materials, and they cannot be altered without express permission from A.A. MA World Services can only seek this permission to alter these copyrighted materials in connection with the procedures in MA’s Service Manual and Bylaws for conducting a fellowship-wide vote and obtaining 3/4 of groups/meetings in favor of any proposed change. Service Manual, Ver. 8.0, pg. 51-52, and Appendix I: Foundation Documents.

When MA had a fellowship-wide vote in 2022-2023, in accordance with the policies and procedures set forth in MA’s SM, to determine whether or not to change “God” to “Higher Power” in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, MA World Services also contacted A.A. in advance to obtain express written permission to make the proposed changes if 3/4 of the meetings/groups voted in favor of the proposed changes (which they did not).

Making changes to these materials on a meeting by meeting basis, or as an entire region or district, not only violates MA’s Traditions, policies and procedures, but also infringes on A.A.’s copyrights. This is a matter that greatly affects MA as a whole, and so meetings do not have the autonomy to make such changes without going through the fellowship-wide voting process. If MA groups or meetings were to change A.A.’s copyrighted materials, this could jeopardize MA’s relationship with A.A. and lead to costly lawsuits for infringing their copyrights.

MA’s copyrighted Life with Hope also cannot be changed without first gaining Conference-approval (by submitting an agenda item to the annual business Conference for the Conference body to vote on). MA World Services has entered into publishing agreements with Hazelden to publish and distribute MA’s literature, and making changes to this literature on a meeting or district basis may violate these agreements, which could jeopardize MA’s ability to publish and make MA literature available for members to purchase.

It is also confusing to MA members, especially newer members, if certain meetings/groups or districts/regions decided to use different versions of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions or Life with Hope. Making changes to these copyrighted materials therefore affects MA as a whole (Tradition Four) by:

• interfering with MA unity (Tradition One); and
• confusing MA members (especially newcomers!)
• interfering with MA’s ability to fulfill its primary purpose and “carry the message,” of recovery (Tradition Five).
• violating MA’s publishing agreements, which risks MA’s ability to make MA literature available for purchase, and may delay the publication of “Living Every Day with Hope” which is currently being negotiated
• risking damage to MA’s reputation and relationships (with other fellowships, Hazelden which publishes MA literature, and beyond);
• All of which risks time-consuming and costly lawsuits for violating copyrights and/or publishing agreements

Therefore, it is beyond the otherwise broad scope of autonomy granted to groups, meetings or districts by the Fourth Tradition to make changes on an individual meeting basis to the Twelve Steps or Twelve Traditions without following the proper procedures for doing so as an entire fellowship, in the Service Manual, Ver. 8.0.

If the the fellowship wants to change the Twelve Steps and/or Twelve Traditions, they must follow the fellowship-wide voting process set forth in the SM and Bylaws, which requires: (1) a motion be brought before the Conference body to determine whether to hold the fellowship-wide vote; (2) if the Conference body is in favor of holding a vote, then a vote of all known MA groups and meetings; and (3) 3/4 of those groups and meetings returning votes must then be in favor of the proposed change. Then, after the group conscience of the fellowship is reached, MA World Services would seek permission from A.A. to further adapt the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. See Service Manual, Ver. 8.0, pg. 51-52, and Appendix I: Foundation Documents for the process for making changes to the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,

In 2022-2023, the 3/4 in favor requirement was not met, but a simple majority was in favor of the proposed changes. So, the changes were not made. While some groups and meetings have made changes on their own since then, those changes violate A.A.’s copyrights and MA Traditions, and so those meetings and groups should revert back to using the approved 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, adapted for MA with permission from A.A.

Changes to the MA-owned copyrighted materials, such as Life with Hope, are also not authorized. While groups and meetings are free to share or screen-share MA’s copyrighted material in their meetings, they are not permitted to change the text in any way (besides excerpting.) Changes to literature and other copyrighted materials owned outright by MA, such as the Service Manual, or Life with Hope, can only be made by submitting a Conference Agenda item seeking the group conscience of the fellowship. Service Manual, Ver. 8.0, pg. 51-52.

Meetings/groups and regions/districts are also not permitted to make Life with Hope or the Life with Hope 12 Step Workbook available for download in their entirety. Making alterations to MA’s literature, or making more than 25% of MA’s literature available online as a PDF or other format for download, not only violates MA’s copyrights, but also MA’s publishing contracts with Hazelden, the publisher of Life with Hope and the Life with Hope Workbook. This risks damaging MA’s reputation with Hazelden, which in turn could lead to delays in publishing “Living Every Day with Hope” (which is currently being negotiated) and increased costs for MA literature, and other difficulties in getting MA literature published and distributed to addicts in need (if Hazeleden were to terminate the agreement due to MA breaching its terms.)

If your meeting/group or region/district currently has these available for download on your website, they should be removed as soon as possible to avoid violating MA’s contractual obligations, which could jeopardize our ability to continue to make MA literature widely available, and to enter into a publishing agreement for MA’s new daily reader Living Every Day with Hope, which MA World Services and ANLP are currently in the process of negotiating an agreement to publish with Hazelden.

To make changes to MA’s copyrighted-material, including Life with Hope, or the Life with Hope 12-Step Workbook, the procedures in the SM for submitting an agenda item to the annual business Conference for the Conference body to vote on must be followed.

While in doubt, it is always better to contact MA World Services to sign a licensing agreement for the desired use of copyrighted (or trademark protected) materials, the following limited uses of MA’s copyrighted material may not require a license, as noted:

One Time Use:

Publication in print or online for the purpose of nonfiction commentary, news reporting, summarization, and similar uses require a license, except in limited instances of “fair use.” In no case should such use exceed 500 words or two paragraphs, whichever is greater. (QUOTE)

Audio Recordings:

Permission to use up to 10% or three minutes, whichever is less, may be presented ONE time for audiences of up to 100 persons is granted. Any use exceeding these terms requires a license.

Individual Use:

Individuals are granted permission to photocopy or print, from time to time, pamphlets, newsletters, or materials from the Website for their own use. Reproduction on a scale above 5 copies for use in meetings or any other use, including emailing documents for this purpose, requires a license.

MA Entities:

The MA Service Manual and Intellectual Property Policies & Procedures provide guidelines for MA members, groups, meetings, districts and regions (“MA Entities”) regarding the reprinting of MA’s copyrighted materials, and use of MA’s registered Trademarks.

Reprinting MA’s Copyrighted Materials by MA Entities:

Regarding the reprinting of MA’s copyrighted materials by MA Entities, the Service Manual (“SM”) states, in part:

“MA meetings, groups, district, or regions are permitted to reprint the Steps, Traditions, Twelve Questions and/or the Concepts for Service, and to quote a phrase, sentence or brief paragraph excerpted from MA literature such as Life with Hope, the Life with Hope Twelve Step Workbook, Living Every Day with Hope, the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, Twelve Concepts for Service, and Twelve Questions, MA’s Service Manual and Conference-approved pamphlets, MA’s Service Manual and Conference-approved pamphlets, without a prior, written request to do so. When this occurs, the proper credit line should be included to ensure that the copyrights of MA. literature are protected. After a quotation from a book or pamphlet, the credit line should read:

‘Reprinted from (name of publication, page number), with permission of MA World Services.’

“When reprinting or excerpting from the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, Twelve Concepts for Service, Twelve Questions. Life with Hope, the Life with Hope Twelve Step Workbook, Living Every Day with Hope, MA’s Service Manual and Conference-approved pamphlets, and other MA literature, these materials may not be altered in any way (besides excerpting) if they are being read, “screen-shared” in a virtual meeting, or otherwise used in meetings.”

“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 the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, Twelve Concepts for Service, Twelve Questions, Life with Hope, the Life with Hope Twelve Step Workbook, Living Every Day with Hope, MA’s Service Manual or Conference-approved pamphlets.”

MA does not own the copyrights to the Serenity Prayer, or other prayers not from Life with Hope (including the St. Francis/Eleventh Step prayer, the Unity prayer, or other prayers not in Life with Hope), so does not have any requirements or limits on their use – although other entities may. However, A.A. also does not own copyrights to the Serenity Prayer, the St. Francis/Eleventh Step prayer, the Unity prayer, or other prayers not from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Nevertheless, it should be noted that anything that is not expressly documented as being in the public domain is copyrighted to some individual or entity, and should not be used frivolously or without permission.

Under Copyright law, certain uses (such as screen sharing from, reproducing, or excerpting from) of MA’s literature are authorized and no written permission is needed. See MA’s IP Policy for more on these authorized uses. Any use of MA’s Copyrighted Materials must be (1) with proper written credit; and (2) MA’s Copyrighted Material may not be altered, revised, or changed in any way besides excerpting.

Making any changes to MA’s Copyrighted Material when reproducing, copying, excerpting, “screen-sharing” or otherwise using it is legally prohibited, and a violation of MA’s Copyright rights. As is the case with MA’s Trademarks, MA World Services has a duty under the Twelve Concepts for Service (Concept Eight), Twelve Traditions (Tradition Four), and other policies to enforce MA World Services’ legal rights, MA World Services has a duty to follow legal advice provided to it, and enforce its IP right, as part of being “entrusted with the responsibility to make final decisions” regarding finance and business decisions, which are issues that “affect MA as a whole” thereby exempting those issues from the generally broad autonomy granted to MA entities. MA entities have the autonomy under MA’s Fourth Tradition to use the group conscience to shape their meetings in many ways, but they are not able to change MA’s Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions or other literature in any way when using or screen-sharing them.

MA’s Copyrighted literature, such as the Twelve Traditions, Twelve Steps, and Life with Hope, form the foundation of MA’s program of recovery, and so it is therefore important that despite the differences between meetings, those essential elements remain consistent from meeting to meeting. This helps preserve MA unity (Tradition One) and helps “carry the message” of recovery (Tradition Five) by avoiding the confusion that having different versions of MA’s Twelve Steps or Life with Hope in different meetings might cause. MA’s Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions can be considered the embodiment of the MA program of recovery (and without the Steps and Traditions, we would not have MA).

Diluting MA’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions by having different versions from meeting to meeting is detrimental to MA unity, MA as a whole, and the program of recovery. This is also why MA’s founders put the heightened procedures for changing MA’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions in the Service Manual and Bylaws. To allow changes to be made in any meeting would go against the intention of MA’s founding members.

In founding MA, multiple different MA groups came together who had formed separately in different areas, each with separate versions of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. In the interest of MA unity, carrying the message, and other Traditions and principles of the program, the groups that came together to form what is now “Marijuana Anonymous,” compromised, came to a group conscience and agreed on one unified version of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (as well as one name, and other unifying characteristics) with a requirement in the MA Bylaws and Service Manual that 3/4 of groups voting be in favor of any future changes to the Steps and Traditions due to their fundamental importance to the MA program. Service Manual, Ver. 8.0, pg. 51-52.

Additionally, A.A. is the legal owner of the copyrights to the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts for Service. MA was granted express permission to use and adapt these materials for the MA program, such as by replacing alcohol with marijuana. However, MA groups/meetings or districts/regions cannot individually make changes to A.A.’s copyrighted Twelve Steps or Twelve Traditions. Changing these materials violates A.A.’s copyrights, and risks harming MA’s reputation and relationship with A.A. It also places MA at risk of being sued for violating A.A.’s copyrights, which would greatly affect MA as a whole. If MA wishes to make changes to these materials as an entire fellowship, using the fellowship-wide voting procedure, then MA can seek permission from A.A. to make those further adaptations to the Steps and Traditions. However, this cannot be done on a meeting by meeting basis, and the procedure for holding a fellowship-wide vote set forth in MA’s SM and Bylaws must be utilized.

Accordingly, if any MA member, meeting, group, region or district wishes to reproduce or otherwise use any of MA’s copyrighted material with changes, they must obtain written permission from [emailprotected]. However, use of MA’s copyrighted materials without alterations (beyond excerpting and with proper credit) is permitted without permission.

And if you do wish to pursue proposing changes to the Twelve Traditions and Twelve Steps consistent with the process set forth in the Service Manual, Ver. 8.0, pg. 51-52 and Appendix I: Foundation Documents, contact the Conferences & Conventions Trustee and the Agenda Committee at [emailprotected] or [emailprotected] and/or the Policies and Procedures Trustee at [emailprotected] for more information on the process.

A license is required for use in educational settings when:

1. the literature is used repeatedly;
2. the material is used for commercial purposes, or
3. the user wants to use a piece of MA’s copyrighted Literature, such as Life with Hope, or a Conference-approved pamphlet, in its entirety.

However, NO license is required to reprint certain materials if the following conditions are met:

1. The text of the Literature shall be presented as-is, with no amendments, changes, editing, or annotations permitted.
2. For scholarly research, use in teaching, or in preparing to teach a class, the educator may use: one chapter from a book; one article from a periodical; one short essay; one chart/graph.
3. Educators may provide links to Literature that is freely available on the Website.
4. Multiple copies may be produced, not to exceed one copy per student in the course, and the material must be brief, as described in Section A.

Each copy should include the following notice of copyright:

“This photocopy was reproduced with the permission of Marijiuana Anonymous World Services, Inc. for inclusion in a course package. Permission to photocopy this material does not mean that MA World Services has reviewed or approved the contents of this course package, or that MA necessarily agrees with the views expressed herein.”