[Foundation-l] Board statement on Wikimedia trademarks

[Robert Rohde]

On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 9:37 AM, Florence Devouard <Anthere9 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Michael Snow wrote:
>> This is the statement on trademarks mentioned earlier. It both states
>> the approach we want the Wikimedia Foundation to take and directs the
>> staff to carry it out. It basically sums up what our understanding has
>> been for a long time, but hadn't really been formally stated anywhere.
>> The board also voted unanimously to approve this. The statement follows:
>>
>> The Wikimedia Foundation is committed to enabling our mission through a
>> wide network of chapters, community members, and organizational partners
>> who are all able to better achieve their goals by identifying themselves
>> with the Wikimedia community. Because of these efforts, there is a large
>> amount of value and goodwill associated with the name and marks.
>> Trademark law in the United States and internationally requires that the
>> holder of a mark take affirmative steps to protect the integrity of the
>> mark. However, because of our commitment to openness and community
>> empowerment, we wish to do this in a way that allows chapters and
>> community members to be able to continue to identify themselves with
>> Wikimedia marks without being unnecessarily restrictive.
>>
>> Because of this, we ask the Wikimedia staff to take appropriate steps to
>> register and protect the Wikimedia marks, develop a set of policies and
>> practices, and develop a strategy to allow uses by the chapters and
>> community for activities in line with the Wikimedia mission.
>>
>> --Michael Snow
>
> Thank you Board.
>
> Ant
>

I'd also like to express my thanks.  Not having any usage guidelines
for most Wikimedia marks has been a pet peeve of mine for, oh, 3-4
years now.

-Robert Rohde