ISO Policy
Use Of ISO Registered Trademarks On Local Websites
With sincere eagerness to make meetings accessible to those in need of help, numerous local SAA individuals, groups, and intergroups have created websites to reach out to the still suffering addict. These sites are also useful for communicating with those already in recovery. In the future, there will be even more such sites. Those who give back by using their technical skill to create and maintain these sites are to be both lauded and encouraged.
Still, even the most well-intentioned endeavors can go astray. On the Internet, there really is no such a thing as a "local" website. Once operational, the site can be accessed by anyone who has a web browser. The website created by a lone SAA member in Paris, Arkansas, can be viewed by a still suffering addict in Paris, France. The Webmaster can be an SAA member with long-term recovery and long-term sobriety or one who has been in the program for six months. The site can be overseen by a conscientious group or intergroup or overseen by no one at all. Its content can be in accordance with the Twelve Steps, the Twelve Traditions, and the approved literature of SAA or it might contain material that its creator has found helpful in his or her own recovery but which is not representative of SAA.
In short, the ISO of SAA, Inc., has no control over what an individual member, group, or intergroup might post on its website. Having no control, it is important that the ISO's registered trademarks are not used on such sites, for they give the appearance that, whatever the content of the page, it is approved and speaks for SAA as a whole.
The Fourth Tradition of SAA states that "Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or SAA as a whole." In order to preclude an individual, group or member from appearing to represent SAA as a whole, the Board of Trustees of the ISO of SAA, Inc., on May 20, 1998, passed the following policy in regard to use of its registered trademarks.
Policy On Use Of SAA Logo & Of "Sex Addicts Anonymous
In order to protect its ownership of the SAA logo and of the words 'Sex Addicts Anonymous' the Board prohibits any use of either property, use by the ISO of SAA, Inc., Office and by authorized ISO of SAA Convention Committees excepted, without its expressed written permission which will be given only after an individual, specific request has been submitted in writing and approved by the Board or, in cases where time is of the essence, by the unanimous approval of the Board's Officers.
Since, as a general policy, the ISO of SAA Board will not grant permission to use either of its registered trademarks, authority has been delegated to its International Office to respectfully decline routine requests for their use on items such as local flyers, pamphlets, business cards, letterheads, T-shirts, banners, websites [italics added], etc., although, in the case of an extraordinary request or when in doubt, the International Office is directed to forward the request to the Board.
Registered groups and intergroups are authorized to list themselves as Sex Addicts Anonymous in phone books and on phone lines.
While making it clear that it does not permit local websites to bear the SAA "From Shame To Grace" logo or use of the words "Sex Addicts Anonymous" as a heading, e.g., "The Tri-County Intergroup Of Sex Addicts Anonymous," the Board, at the same time, recognizes that it is important and useful for local groups and intergroups to be able to demonstrate to their viewers a connection with the larger fellowship of Sex Addicts Anonymous. With these two ends in mind, on November 14, 1998, the Board approved the following disclaimers for use on local websites. The first disclaimer is for an intergroup sponsored website, the second for a group sponsored site.
TRI-COUNTY INTERGROUP OF SAA [fictitious name]
The Tri-County Intergroup of SAA is an autonomous registered fellowship composed of registered groups of recovering sex addicts who follow the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Sex Addicts Anonymousâ (SAA). The views expressed on this website are those of Tri-County Intergroup and do not necessarily represent those of Sex Addicts Anonymous as a whole. The official website of Sex Addicts Anonymousâ (http://www.saa-recovery.org) is overseen by the ISO of SAA, Inc., through its Board of Trustees who are elected by delegates who represent its member groups.
CENTER CITY SAA [fictitious name]
Center City SAA is an autonomous registered group composed of recovering sex addicts who follow the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Sex Addicts Anonymousâ (SAA). The views expressed on this website are those of Center City SAA and do not necessarily represent those of Sex Addicts Anonymous as a whole. The official website of Sex Addicts Anonymousâ (http:/www.saa-recovery.org) is overseen by the ISO of SAA, Inc., through its Board of Trustees who are elected by delegates who represent its member groups.
Two points are worthy of note. First, the letters "SAA" are not registered to anyone or to any organization. In fact, they are used by many groups, from the Sunglass Association Of America to the Society of American Archeologists as well as Sex Addicts Anonymous. Second, of the 26 currently listed SAA intergroups, none of them uses "Sex Addicts Anonymous" as part of their name. Rather, they carry such names as South Eastern Virginia Intergroup, Eugene SAA Intergroup, Gulf Coast Region Intergroup, Houston Area SAA Intergroup, London Intergroup, Santa Barbara Area Intergroup, Southern California Intergroup, and Twin Cities SAA Intergroup.
With the foregoing points in mind and using the Board approved disclaimer, the Santa Barbara Area Intergroup, for example, could banner its website as:
The Official Website Of
SANTA BARBARA AREA INTERGROUP OF SAA
The Santa Barbara Area Intergroup of SAA is an autonomous registered fellowship composed of registered groups of recovering sex addicts who follow the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA). The views expressed on this website are those of the Santa Barbara Area Intergroup and do not necessarily represent those of Sex Addicts Anonymous as a whole. The official website of Sex Addicts Anonymous (http:/www.saa-recovery.org) is overseen by the ISO of SAA, Inc., through its Board of Trustees who are elected by delegates who represent its member groups.
It is the hope of the Board of Trustees that such an integration of local autonomy and the exclusive rights of the ISO of SAA, Inc., meets the needs of both the local groups and intergroups and the SAA Fellowship as a whole. It is equally the hope of the Board that local groups and intergroups will follow a policy of rigorous honesty in honoring the legal rights of the ISO of SAA, Inc., as granted it by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
© Copyright 2008
International Service Organization of SAA, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No written material, graphic image, or any other data
may be downloaded, copied, reproduced, duplicated, or conveyed in any other way without the express written
permission of International Service Organization of SAA, Inc.
® Registered Trademark
Sex Addicts Anonymous and the SAA logo are registered trademarks of the International Service Organization of Sex
Addicts Anonymous, Inc.