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For over 70 years,
Alcoholics Anonymous has enjoyed a sterling reputation.
Its fellowship is viewed as the gold standard among
the worldwide community of Twelve Step groups. As
is true of any living reality, A.A.’s early
experiences led to the formulation of its Traditions,
the Tenth of which reads: “Alcoholics Anonymous
has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name
ought never be drawn into public controversy.”
That spiritual Tradition, which is enshrined also
in its First Legacy of Unity, has preserved Alcoholics
Anonymous from public disputes over religious, legal,
political, economic or treatment issues involving
alcoholism.
Since its first
1939 publication, the book Alcoholics Anonymous: the
Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women have
Recovered from Alcoholism has served as the virtual
Bible of the A.A. fellowship, with over 21 million
copies in some 40 languages sold to members currently
numbering over two million in over 100 countries.
Alcoholics
Anonymous World Services, Inc., (A.A.W.S.) a corporation
and service committee, publishes and annually sells
about a million copies of the A.A. book, affectionately
nicknamed "the Big Book." The same corporate
service entity also sells over 100 other books, pamphlets,
tapes, films, CDs and other materials. Those sales
brought in $11.6 million in 2005. Also according to
a report made to the delegates at A.A.'s 2005 General
Service Conference (GSC), a sister corporation and
service committee, the AA Grapevine, Inc., realized
income of about $2 million in 2005 sales of its monthly
magazine and other works.
Although Alcoholics
Anonymous is “fully self-supporting” as
mandated by its Seventh Tradition, A.A. group contributions,
coming from only about 45 % of U.S. and Canadian groups,
provide less than 50% of the funds needed to support
the fellowship’s various service committees
and corporations headquartered in New York City. Because
Alcoholics Anonymous declines “outside contributions,”
the balance of the funds necessary to support these
entities came from the profits from the literature
sales noted above.
Literature
sales, then, are essential to the operation of the
Alcoholics Anonymous General Service Office and its
related corporations. Because of this, it seems, in
recent years, the employees of Alcoholics Anonymous
World Services – the “trusted servants”
of A.A. members according to the fellowship’s
Second Tradition – have seen fit to initiate
legal actions and threats in U.S., Mexican and German
public civil and criminal courts of law against A.A.
members who have reprinted A.A. literature whose copyrights
have expired
To
put the matter bluntly, the “trusted servants”
of A.A. members have sued A.A. members for their attempts
to carry the A.A. message to alcoholics who still
suffer from the alcoholic affliction!
Although
admittedly a painful exercise, what follows will attempt
– out of love and respect for the A.A. fellowship,
its program and Traditions and Legacies – to
explore these happenings in an attempt to inform A.A.
members of what is being done to other A.A. members
in their name.
The First Reprint
Many
think the “legalism” movement at A.A.W.S.
began in 1985 when Jon S. of Akron published a facsimile
copy of the first 1939 edition of the book Alcoholics
Anonymous. He discovered AAWS had failed to renew
the copyright and the book was subsequently in the
public domain. Anyone could reprint it (or the Bible
or Shakespeare) (the first edition copyright expired
in 1967 and the second edition in 1983). In 1977,
the General Service Conference of A.A. recommended
that “publication of a facsimile of the first
edition of the Big Book should NOT be undertaken as
it would destroy the sentimental value of the actual
first edition (Floor Action).”(1)
Jon’s company,
Carry The Message, published the reprint. He did nothing
illegal under criminal or civil law. He did not violate
any of A.A.’s Steps or Traditions. A.A.s appreciated
the 50th Anniversary of A.A. reprint project and bought
many thousands. Other A.A.s slandered his reputation
and called him a communist. He received telephone
death threats! AAWS threatened him with legal action
but took none.
This was the first
real threat to AAWS’s chief literature moneymaker,
the Big Book. They reviewed their copyrights program
and employed a law firm specializing in that area.
The
AAWS Logo Lawsuit
The
second legal event concerned the circle and triangle
logo AAWS used in the 1980s to identify “A.A.-Approved
Literature.” AAWS had previously given permission
to about 170 jewelry and trinket manufacturers to
use it on their products sold to A.A. members.
“AAWS decided
to withdraw all permission…and asked them to
discontinue any current or future use of that symbol.
All but two agreed.
“After further negotiations with the two who
refused failed, it was decided by AAWS to bring suit
against the offenders. The General Service Conference
of A.A. was never consulted…
“It was
after some $180,000.00 spent on legal fees, and it
became apparent that AAWS was going to lose the lawsuit,
AAWS agreed with the defendants in this case to allow
the circle and triangle symbol to enter the public
domain.
“After this
fiasco, AAWS decided to no longer use the symbol as
an official logo on any A.A. literature. However,
they did state that A.A. members could continue to
use this logo if they so desired. This action was
(also) taken without consulting the General Service
Conference.
“This is
what I know about this matter. The rest is all history,
except the Trustees have repeatedly thwarted any attempts
to put this issue on the Conference agenda to be discussed
by the entire Fellowship. Such discussions that have
taken place, have been in a time and place that the
Trustees could control the outcome.”(2)
Having lost the
lawsuit, AAWS made no “amends” to the
two defendants who suffered financial damage in the
lawsuit as suggested in A.A.’s Eighth and Ninth
Steps: “Made a list of all persons we had harmed,
and became willing to make amends to them all”
(and) “Made direct amends to such people wherever
possible, except when to do so would injure them or
others.”
Copyrights
and Trademarks Policy
In
1994 a General Service Board ad hoc committee discussed
the policy on protection of trademarks and copyrights.
“The committee was unable to achieve agreement
on the issue of litigation, but recognizes that we
are a spiritual Fellowship with some business and
as a matter of policy our Steps, Traditions and Concepts
should direct the nature of that business.”
It recommended the policy be reviewed by the 1996
General Service Conference of A.A.; information be
furnished to the Fellowship-at-large including “our
society’s responsibilities to A.A.’s intellectual
properties, basic message and the A.A. name itself;
and that litigation …should not be undertaken
without consultation with the General Service Board.”
(3)
One notes that
A.A.’s Sixth Tradition prohibits the Fellowship
from owning “property” (which includes
“intellectual properties …copyrights and
trademarks).” AAWS was not required to submit
possible litigation for review or approval or disapproval
by the General Service Conference of A.A. And consultation
with the General Service Board is consultation with
the Trustees who, apparently, are in agreement with
AAWS about lawsuits.
What
is Alcoholics Anonymous?
Before
discussing AAWS lawsuits against A.A. members in Germany
and Mexico and related matters, an overview of A.A.
is necessary. “Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship
of men and women who share their experience, strength
and hope with each other that they may solve their
common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism,”
the A.A. preamble states. It is not a corporation.
It is not a service committee. It is not a publishing
empire. It is a spiritual fellowship of one alcoholic
talking to another.
Alcoholics Anonymous
World Services, Inc.; (AAWS) The General Service Board
of A.A., Inc. (GSB)(the Trustees); The AA Grapevine,
Inc. (GV); and The General Service Office (GSO) are
all corporations or service committees whose primary
purpose is to serve the A.A. fellowship. When any
of these corporate entities begin to exercise power
or authority beyond their limitations and keep their
actions hidden from the fellowship itself or removed
from approval or disapproval by the General Service
Conference of Delegates of A.A., the voice of the
fellowship in the U.S. and Canada, they have undoubtedly
violated A.A.’s Steps, Traditions, or Concepts.
A.A. shares its
experience and this very problem of corporations and
lawsuits surfaced early in A.A. history. It encountered
a legal problem with its first name, The Alcoholic
Foundation.
In the final report
of the 1st General Service Conference of
A.A. in 1951, Bernard B. Smith, then non-alcoholic
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Alcoholic
Foundation, said: “One problem involved unauthorized
use of the name ‘Alcoholics Anonymous.’
To protect the name, it was decided to incorporate
in the various states. The question then became: ‘What
would be incorporated?’ Since a majority of
the Trustees are non-alcoholic, the Foundation was
not really A.A. It was suggested Act of Congress might
solve the problem through a special incorporation.
This posed the problem of whether or not AA should
ever go into court.” There were other problems
and years earlier this first General Service Conference
was approved in principle by only a single vote. So,
action was deferred.
The 2nd
General Service Conference tackled the problem again
and decided to incorporate through an Act of Congress
until Bill W. and others expressed doubts as to whether
A.A. “as a faith and way of life” really
belonged in the field of incorporation. After that,
the original motion for incorporation was tabled unanimously.
At the 3rd
General Service Conference a special committee report
recommended that A.A. not incorporate. That resolution
was passed unanimously.
The
following report is spiritually and historically impressive:
1953
REPORT of the COMMITTEE on CONGRESSIONAL INCORPORATION
of AA (4)
We
have reviewed all of the arguments pro and con on
this subject, have discussed it with many members
of AA within the Conference and outside of
it and have come to these conclusions:
1.
The evils which caused the question to arise have
largely abated.
2.
It would create by law a power to govern which would
be contrary to, and violative of, our Traditions.
3.
It would implement the spiritual force of AA with
a legal power, which we believe would tend to weaken
its spiritual strength.
4.
When we ask for legal rights, enforceable in Courts
of Law, we by the same act subject ourselves to possible
legal regulation.
5.
We might well become endlessly entangled in litigation
which, together with the incident expense and publicity,
could seriously threaten our very existence.
6.
Incorporation could conceivably become the opening
wedge that might engender politics and a struggle
for power within our own ranks.
7.
Continuously since its beginning and today, AA has
been a fellowship and not an organization. Incorporation
necessarily makes it an organization.
8.
We believe that "spiritual faith" and a
"way of life" cannot be incorporated.
9.
AA can and will survive so long as it remains a spiritual
faith and a way of life to all men and women who suffer
from alcoholism.
Therefore,
keeping in mind, the high purpose of the General Service
Conference as expressed by the Chairman last year
when he said, "We seek not compromise but certainty,
your Committee unanimously recommends that Alcoholics
Anonymous does not incorporate.”
Those 9 points
above are a wonderful spiritual precedent. They stand
in stark contrast to the current New York office service
corporations and their legal actions.
Spirituality
can not be incorporated in A.A. The principle
was established. In 1953, the General Service Conference
recommended “Alcoholics Anonymous not incorporate.”
(ADGSC, p. 145)
The Paperback AA Big Book
In
1992, Intergroup World Service (IWS) (not affiliated
with AAWS or any other A.A. corporation) reprinted
the first 1939 edition first printing of the AA Big
Book in paperback. They sold it for $2.50 and in quantity
for 55 to 85 cents. The book included the forwards,
Dr.’s Opinion, the first 164 pages and Dr. Bob’s
story. They sold thousands. Many A.A. groups bought
25, 50, 100 copies and gave them away. Obviously,
it was needed. In the first year IWS gave away about
2,000 free and sold the remainder of the initial printing
of 4,500. IWS cost per book including printing, paper,
cover material and shipping was 45 cents.
The legalists
in A.A. reacted very quickly to this real
threat to A.A.’s big moneymaker, the Big Book.
In 1993, the Literature Committee of the General Service
Conference recommended, “A.A.W.S. produce
a pocket-sized (read: paperback) version of the Big
Book with all front matter (preface and various forewords,
Doctor’s Opinion), basic text, Dr. Bob’s
Story and Appendixes.”
In
1958, in a Floor Action, the Conference recommended,
“a paperback edition of the ‘Big Book’
not be published.”
In 1976, the Literature
Committee and the Conference in Floor Action recommended
“We keep the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous,
as it is at this time and not publish a paperback
edition.”
In 1987, a Conference
committee advised “Although there is some desire
to publish the first 181 pages of the Big Book, Alcoholics
Anonymous, in soft-cover (read paperback), there
is not sufficient need at this time.” (5)
So for 35 years,
AAWS and the Conference ignored or defeated
any request to reprint the Big Book in paperback.
One major reason often quoted was it would “cheapen”
the Big Book. It did “cheapen” the Big
Book when thousands of A.A. members bought it for
$2.50 or much less in quantities from IWS.
Less than a year
after the IWS paperback reprint, AAWS rushed
into print with its own “cheap” Big Book
paperback. Why? Money. AAWS’s first printing
run of the now A.A.-Approved Big Book paperback was
100,000 copies. They used the same printing company
as IWS: Rose Printing of Tallahassee, Florida. AAWS
provided the paper and cover material and the completed
AAWS book had 16 fewer pages than the IWS paperback.
Cost to AAWS was .67 cents per book. The
AAWS paperback was printed at the identical plant,
on the identical presses, bound in the same bindery,
by the same workers.
Two months after
the IWS paperback reprint, IWS met with concerned
AAWS officials and began receiving harassing
legal letters from AAWS. AAWS accused IWS of “unfair
competition” (the low price of the book?) AAWS
continues to print the BB paperback for $5.60 each.
Finally, in 1995, IWS and AAWS met and worked out
a settlement.
In a phone interview
with John G. of IWS, he detailed the main points of
the settlement: (1)
AAWS would apologize to every A.A. group in the world
for its legal harassment of IWS, Inc. That AAWS apology
was published in Box 4-5-9 and in the 1995 Final Report
of the General Service Conference.
(2) IWS would
stop printing in Spanish.
(3) IWS would
stop selling its paperback in Canada.
(4) IWS would
submit all future reprints before printing to AAWS
for review.
Shortly
thereafter, IWS dissolved. A new group, Anonymous
Press, has taken over printing of the former IWS paperback
BB, as well as the facsimile of the original 1939
BB in hardback and soft back. Anonymous Press continues
to sell thousands of copies. (See http://anonpress.org/)
(www.?)
Worldwide Authority!
In
1987, a significant change to the original 1955 Conference
Charter was passed. Article Two then stated: “But
no Conference Section shall ever be placed in authority
over another.”(6) In 1987, that was deleted
and the following added: “In countries where
a General Service structure exists, the U.S./Canada
Conference will delegate sole right to publish our
Conference-approved literature to the General Service
Board of the structure.”(6) The reason given
for the change involved a problem with two different
groups in Australia. One AA member informed that the
change was “ramroded” through.
Following
the 1987 Charter change, A.A.W.S.’s legal actions
in recent years in initiating lawsuits and other harassments
resulted in a breach of trust and ten delegates signed
a motion to censure the General Service Conference.
The ten delegates
said: “Alcoholics Anonymous, either directly
or indirectly, has found itself engaged in activities
formerly considered well outside the realm of our
spiritual path. Our service boards have begun to engage
in struggles over power and property and have provided
the opportunity for a small minority to seek prestige.”
This
was the only major censure motion in A.A. history!
a recommendation that “the proposal to censure
the General Service Board (the Trustees)” was
“dismissed (by the Trustees).”(7)
With the Trustees’
backing, AAWS in New York City now had authority over
all other countries’ A.A. Conferences to control
all A.A. literature.
That
authority and power resulted in the following lawsuits
by AAWS against A.A. members in Mexico and Germany
as well as on the internet. (rather world wide web?)
The
Mexican Big Book Lawsuit (8)
In 1986, a section
of A.A. groups broke off from the Central
Mexico Service Structure to form their own group,
called Section Mexicana composed of over 2,000 groups
with some 20,000 to 28,000 members in 19 areas. Section
Mexicana began reprinting the Big Book and several
A.A. pamphlets.
In October 1990,
in a signed AAWS License Agreement (read:
franchise agreement), AAWS Inc. authorized the Central
Mexico group to be the sole publisher of A.A.
literature in Mexico.
In July 1994,
Central Mexico sued the Section Mexicana for publishing
A.A. literature. AAWS has claimed it was
not a party to the Central Mexicana lawsuit but this
is not true: Consider the following quote
from AAWS General Manager George D.
concerning the foreign licensing/franchise agreements:
"Our licensing agreements have also included
a REQUIREMENT that the necessary actions to protect
the copyrights which were licensed." Central
Mexico had to sue, according to AAWS's licensing/franchise
agreement, or else risk a lawsuit against itself by
AAWS.
In July 1994,
Mexican law officials entered the offices of Section
Mexicana and impounded two truckloads of AA
Big Books, pamphlets and other AA literature.
Section Mexicana spent some $300,000. (US Dollars)
defending itself. One Section Mexicana trusted servant,
Javier G., was convicted in criminal court of violating
copyright laws and sentenced to one year in prison.
AAWS was a legal party to that criminal proceeding.
There were public news reports of the raid on Section
Mexicana’s offices. Obviously, AAWS
felt that A.A. Twelfth Concept did not apply: “…that
its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement
to public controversy.”
At their national
convention at Netzahualcoyotl City, June 7, 1997,
after many failed attempts to communicate with AAWS
and Central Mexico GSC to resolve the dispute, Section
Mexicana adopted the following (condensed) “Declaration
of Mexico”:
Section Mexico
adopts the original conference charter offered by
Bill W. and unanimously acclaimed in 1955 by the A.A.
collective conscience. The General Service Conference
shall be a service body only; never a government for
Alcoholics Anonymous.
Our World Services
should always conform to the Composition Concept outlined
in Article Two of the original Conference Charter.
We suggest that
the collective world conscience speak out their disapproval
of the updating made in 1987 to Article Two of the
Conference Charter, for this action has whereupon
nullified the group-autonomy concept among the different
sections of the conference, and has, consequently,
placed one conference in a position of unqualified
authority over any of the others.
In all its proceedings,
the World Service Conference shall observe the Spirit
of A.A. Traditions, taking great care that
the conference never becomes the seat of perilous
wealth and power…
None of the World
Service Conference members shall ever be placed in
a position of unqualified authority over any of the
others; that all important decisions be reached by
discussion, vote, and whenever possible, by substantial
unanimity.
No World Service
Conference action shall ever be personally punitive
or an incitement to public controversy.
The World Service
Conference…shall never perform any acts of government;
and that, like the Society of A.A. which
it serves, the Conference itself will always remain
democratic in thought and action.
The spiritual
force of A.A. has proved, as our own painful
experience has taught the A.A. World Fellowship, to
be stronger than any legal power. Accordingly, this
First A.A. World Service Meeting solemnly declares
that in A.A. there should not be any litigation,
ever.
…that the
A.A. Literature shall not be considered a
source of income.
…and that
A.A. should remain being its own publisher
and editor so that A.A. literature keeps
its spiritual message.
Section Mexico’s
General Service Conference after eleven years of serving
its Fellowship, has the deepest conviction that the
Conference Plan is a Warrantee that our movement-wide
service would continue to function under all conditions,
God willing…
This first A.A.
World Service Meeting calls the world group conscience
to (return) to A.A. principles, the only way to keep
our blessed fellowship united for ourselves and future
generations…
Our long journey
from the devastating prosecution we were subjected
to, to today’s blessings, and a promising future,
are rich experiences that we would like to share with
our A.A. Fellows from abroad.”
The German Big Book Lawsuit
In
the 1990s, several A.A. members felt the
official German translation of the Big Book was priced
very high. They formed their own A.A. Big Book Study
Group (AABBSG) and in 1996 printed 10,000 copies of
the Multilith, the draft text for the first Big Book.
They gave them away free at a German convention and
mailed them free. A second printing was needed and
soon A.A. big book study groups sprang up around the
country.
In summer 1996,
the AABBS Group began translating and giving away
two pamphlets because they were badly needed for 12th
Step work. In August 1996 Gen. Mgr. George D. of AAWS,
Inc., went to Munich and arranged a license agreement
for the Big Book and these two pamphlets. These agreements
were kept secret and unknown to the Fellowship until
Dec. 10, 1997. Under the agreement, the German GSO
was authorized (and required) to take legal action
against the study group. Gen. Mgr. George D. of AAWS
urged GSO Gen. Mgr. Hans P. to sue, or else risk being
sued himself by AAWS.
In 1997, a criminal
investigation of the AABBSG was conducted by local
police. Although unsuccessful, some members of the
AABBSG (afraid of further consequences) signed agreements
with AAeV (the German GSO) to never again give away
a Big Book, or else pay $6,000. fine for each one
to the German GSO. A few AABBSG members refused to
sign and continued to give away copies of the original
Multilith A.A. text.
At this point,
the German GSO singled out one A.A. individual (Matthew,
the book manufacturer) and added civil lawsuits to
the ongoing criminal prosecution. The AABBSG responded
by printing copies of the first edition of the Big
Book, for which the U.S. copyright had lapsed and
was thought to have been forfeited by unrestricted
publication of the Multilith draft without copyright
notice. These were printed in languages other than
German.
At AAWS, Inc.’s request, the German
GSO sued Matthew and another individual for the foreign
language editions, requesting up to $250,000. in fines
for each language. When the German GSO lost this lawsuit,
AAWS, Inc. itself brought suit for about $200,000.
directly against Matthew for the free distribution
of the foreign language editions of the first edition
Big Book by AABBSG, as well as purchasing a few Big
Books in the U.S. and reselling them in Germany.
Although many
A.A. members in more than one location carried
out the printing, AAWS, Inc. brought suit against
one A.A. individual. More ominously, the
actions of AAWS, Inc. have been diametrically opposed
to A.A.’s principles --- most notably Step 12,
Tradition 5, and Concept XII, Warranty Five.
In their zeal
to win the lawsuit, AAWS, Inc. testified
to the German court that they were in no way bound
by A.A. Traditions, and indicated that the
corporation bylaws of both AAWS, Inc. and the German
GSO do not prohibit bringing lawsuits, in the expectation
that the corporations sometimes must bring lawsuits
in order to protect their assets.
AAWS Inc.
has also stated that they will continue to sue Matthew
(and others) by all means possible. Although the German
Delegates and Committees were asked to consider the
topic and voted UNANIMOUSLY in 2002 that the AAeV/German
GSO is bound to adhere to the AA Steps, Traditions
and Concepts, their President wrote a letter to the
court that the German GSC had approved the lawsuits
(did they?) and he had no choice but to continue with
litigation.
By October 2003
Matthew had exhausted all his funds and became unable
to pay for any further legal defense. The legal costs
and probable punitive damages resulting from the AAWS,
Inc. lawsuits will probably send him into bankruptcy,
and possibly jail.
Since April 2003
Matthew has been making regular payments on the judgment
to AAWS and AAeV. Apparently, this payment plan has
become unacceptable, most likely because Matthew has
not been willing to agree to other conditions requested
by AA Inc…. specifically to: 1) reveal full
names (break the anonymity) of others involved in
these 12th Step efforts; and 2) agree to never hand
out another piece of A.A. literature---regardless
of who published it.
Without Matthew’s
acceptance of these conditions, AAWS and
AAeV have been unwilling to agree to any payment schedule,
and have insisted he must pay all fines, penalties,
interest and principal of the judgment by the deadline
or he will experience “Zwangsvollstreckung”
(“further law enforcement punishment).
As of December,
2004, Matthew has paid AA Inc. about 40,000 Euro (about
$53,208.00 US Dollars) out of his own pocket.
Looking over this
mess in Germany, one A.A. member said that
March 26, 1998, when the trial began against Matthew,
was “the saddest day in A.A. history.”
“The German
AAeV (GSO) wants to take all of the (A.A.) literature
owned by this individual A.A. member and the Group
he belongs to and destroy it. This writer wonders
if the German General Service Office remembers in
the world’s not too distant past, the practice
of book burning once so prevalent in Germany?”
he said.
What did it cost
A.A.W.S. to do all this? Legal fees and related expenses
over the seven year period, 1998-2004, totaled $227,707.00,
according to the April, 2004, report of Elaine McDowell,
Ph.D., Chair of the A.A. General Service Board.
Was the message
of the Big Book in any way “diluted,”
or changed, or harmed by Matthew’s efforts?
NO. Did Matthew and his friends try to “carry
the message”? YES. Did A.A.W.S. start this whole
batch of lawsuits? YES.
The A.A.W.S. = eBay controversy
Alcoholics
Anonymous World Services, over the past two years,
has removed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books
and other items for sale on eBay auctions because
A.A.W.S. says the listings offer “counterfeit
or unauthorized items that violate a trademark,”
namely the name “Alcoholics Anonymous.”
And many Fellowship
members, AA archivists, collectors, buyers and sellers,
and booksellers of Alcoholics Anonymous historical
literature are upset and describe A.A.W.S.’s
actions as “punitive.” They say A.A.W.S.
is violating A.A.’s Twelve Traditions and Concepts
and taken the Fellowship into the public arena where
lawsuits, punitive actions and public controversy
may occur.
What A.A.W.S.
has done with these legal actions is attack the very
heart of A.A., its history. Thousands of A.A. members,
archivists and collectors as well as scholars searched
and found and bought thousands of books, articles,
and other material by and about A.A. They all love
A.A. history and these eBay auctions were one of their
primary sources for finding it. Yes, trinkets were
sold on the site. Everyone knows a lighter or a candle
with a picture of Dr. Bob is not A.A.-Approved, what
great harm is done?
As an Antiquarian
Bookseller-Appraiser specializing in the literature
of Alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous for the past
30 years full time, I recently had several “Alcoholics
Anonymous” literature items removed from my
eBay auctions for the first time in my career. Over
the past two years, I have received emails from others
complaining about their advertised “AA”
items for sale on eBay auctions also being removed.
One gentleman had 50 items removed.
A current GSO
research report I requested revealed that from December,
2002, to September, 2005, a total of 735 items advertised
as “Alcoholics Anonymous” auctions
have been removed by AAWS under the eBay VeRO program.
Here is the eBay email others and I have received:
“Dear
Charles Bishop,
**PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT EMAIL REGARDING YOUR
LISTING(S)** We would like to let you know that
we removed your listings:
4573581620 Alcoholics Anonymous: Washingtonians!
4573583256 Alcoholics Anonymous: Road Back history
because an intellectual property rights owner notified
us, under penalty of perjury, that your listing
offers a counterfeit or unauthorized item that violates
a trademark.
If you relist this or any other similar items on
eBay, your account likely will be suspended. For
more information on the VeRO Program, please visit:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/vero-removed-listing.html
and
http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/vero-aboutme.html
(signed) eBay Inc.”
Since “eBay
is generally unable to determine whether a particular
item on eBay is authorized or not, eBay established
the VeRO Program in 1997 to enable intellectual property
rights owners to easily report and request removal
of listings offering items or containing materials
that infringe their rights.”
The words “Alcoholics
Anonymous, A.A.,” are federally registered
trademarks owned by A.A.W.S. They are intellectual
property of Alcoholics Anonymous.
In a letter from the law firm representing AAWS
to a person who objected to having her eBay auction
listing removed; it stated “We represent A.A.W.S.
with respect to trademark and copyright matters. We
requested that your particular listing be removed
because of the use of either, or both, ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS or AA in the title of the
item. We requested removal because the use of those
marks in the title suggests that AAWS sponsors,
approves, etc., the item you listed. The item listed
is not approved AAWS material.” Clearly, AAWS
removes the items; not eBay.
My first item
removed was: “The Road Back: A Report on
Alcoholics Anonymous by Joseph Kessel. First American
Edition. 1962. 244pp. French journalist explores AA.”
It is not A.A.-Approved literature but the entire
book is about AA and the title includes “Alcoholics
Anonymous.” For many years the easiest search
category for literature by or about AA on eBay auctions
was “Alcoholics Anonymous.” Now the only
items legally permitted in that category by AAWS are
“A.A.-Approved publications.”
If I relist that
item under the eBay category “Alcoholics Anonymous,”
I risk having my eBay account suspended. That’s
certainly a punitive action. When AAWS removed it
and 3 other items, my description of the items disappeared
entirely from eBay. My work was gone. That’s
punitive.
I reprinted The
Washingtonian book of 1842 in 1992 and reprinted
that twice more and have sold several hundred copies
over the years to AA archivists and others. Milton
Maxwell, a non-alcoholic A.A. Trustee, who
wrote about the Washingtonians, read the book. Bill
W., AA Co-founder, obviously talked with Maxwell about
it and Bill took to heart the mistakes of the Washingtonians
when he was writing the 12 Traditions. The Washingtonians
were the subject of several AA Grapevine articles.
Legally the book is not A.A.-Approved literature but
it certainly is A.A. literature in the spiritual
and practical realm. Bibliographies of AA include
it and the book by Kessel mentioned above.
The very first
Advisory Action from the General Service Conference
(GSC) Literature Committee in 1951 reads, “In
future years, A.A. textbook literature should
have Conference approval (Agenda Committee). Prior
to the vote on this subject, it was pointed out that
the adoption of the suggestion should not preclude
the continued issuance of various printed documents
by non-Foundation sources. No desire to review,
edit or censor non-Foundation material is implied.
The objective is to provide, in the future, a means
of distinguishing Foundation literature from that
issued locally or by non-A.A. interests.” Of
course, the question remains of how binding are “Advisory
Actions of the GSC” on AAWS or GSO
or General Service
Board? Apparently not binding at all.
A.A.W.S.’s action kicking people off eBay “Alcoholics
Anonymous” auctions certainly seems to be “censor
of non-Foundation material.” And GSO servants
certainly “review” non-Foundation material
on that website.
AAWS
is using a very narrow, legal definition of what constitutes
A.A. literature that excludes literally hundreds,
indeed many thousands, of books and other works from
being advertised in eBay auctions under the category
“Alcoholics Anonymous.” Consider: the
number two best-selling book for AA members for many,
many years was Twenty-Four Hours a Day, outsold
only by the Big Book.
AAWS
could remove it from eBay auctions since it is not
A.A.-Approved Literature.
A signed 1941 letter about anonymity from Bill W.
on his AA letterhead would not qualify for sale on
eBay under “Alcoholics Anonymous.” Nor
would Ernest Kurtz’s Not-God: A History of
Alcoholics Anonymous. Nor would the 1941 Saturday
Evening Post magazine article on A.A. that resulted
in our membership jumping from 2,000 to 8,000 in a
year or so. Nor would thousands of other items. In
the extreme, AAWS could remove Alcoholics
Anonymous, the facsimile 1985 reprint of the first
edition of the Big Book, since it is not A.A.-Approved
Literature (and would certainly risk a lawsuit!).
If AAWS-GSO
applied that narrow, legal definition of A.A.-Approved
Literature to itself, maybe the A.A. Archives in New
York might have to be “reviewed, edited, and
censored” for all the non-Foundation and non-A.A.-Approved
literature it houses. (Here comes the book burning!)
Again AAWS
has stepped into the outside world and imposed itself
legally on an outside business. Doesn’t the
preamble say A.A. neither opposes nor endorses outside
issues?
This eBay-AAWS
mess is not just speculation. Here is just one email
from an A.A. member who was banned: “A few years
ago I was converting AA Talks from cassette to CD
and listing them on eBay, using the “Alcoholics
Anonymous” name because they were Alcoholics
Anonymous talks. eBay, at the request of AAWS, banned
me. Several people are doing exactly what I did and
eBay (and AAWS) does nothing about it. The
“crime” I committed is no longer against
eBay rules. How many others have been banned from
eBay by AAWS?”
A.A.
Legal Rights
Does
A.A.W.S. have the legal right to defend the
A.A. name, identity, and intellectual property
in the public sphere? Defend it against what? The
Fellowship/society of A.A., consistent with Traditions,
is not organized nor is it a “non-profit organization
and, as such has no legal rights, including protection
of its name and no intellectual or tangible property.”
But A.A.W.S. is a legal corporation under
the laws of the state of New York. The Big Book reminds
“And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone
---even alcohol.” (p.84)
Two examples on
the thorny problem: first, many telephone books list
Alcoholics Anonymous but some disreputable treatment
centers have listed themselves as “Alcoholics
Anonymous Referral Service” to get patients.
A drunk calls A.A. and gets the treatment
center. Currently A.A.W.S. through its trusted
servant for copyrights and trademarks actively pursues
such false advertising. And 99% of A.A. members
would probably agree those treatment centers should
stop their counterfeit phone listings. However, some
of those phony listings offer an A.A. referral service
and a drunk can be given information on where AA meetings
are in his geographical area. There is no doubt the
treatment center is fishing for new patients and abusing
the A.A. name; we went through that “institutional
profiteering” by the treatment industry back
in the 1980-90s. Remember in the early days when a
national magazine article criticized A.A.
meetings for the sexual “13th step”
activities going on. Bill Wilson laughed and said
maybe a drunk would come for sex and get sober.
The second example:
a website called “Alcoholics Anonymous.org”
was not an official A.A. website. Alcoholics Anonymous
filed a claim with the World Intellectual Property
Organization’s (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation
Center against them, but lost the case because WIPO
said the site displayed an adequate warning “which
goes much further than an ordinary disclaimer.”
The WIPO board also noted AA encourages anonymity
and a decentralized structure. (For more information
see http://news.com.com/2100-1023-807196.html?legacy=cnet).
In 2000 AAWS
went to the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
to have “aarecovery.com” transferred to
AAWS. Aarecovery.com is a chat room that did not sell
products. AAWS accused them of “confusing the
relevant purchasing public.” What AAWS
really objected to was the use of “aa”
in their website address. AAWS lost its case. There
are undoubtedly many other examples pro and con.
When one considers
our new universe of the World Wide Web, the problem
gets really big. A Google© search turns up over
130,000 links to “Alcoholics Anonymous.”
Some are not official A.A. sites. For book hunters,
a link to ABE booksellers’ site reveals over
70 million books from almost 15,000 booksellers.
Many probably
list books under a generic “alcoholics anonymous”
name which is not A.A.-Approved Literature. A web
search for “alcoholism treatment” turns
up over 375,000 listings. Some of these websites probably
are abusing the name “Alcoholics Anonymous.”
Bloggers, chat rooms, advertisers … endless
websites. The internet world is huge and A.A. is in
it. How extensive should A.A.W.S.’s protection
of A.A.’s identity and name be? Do they really
own the name Alcoholics Anonymous? Certainly AA does
not need a staff of ten or twenty-five plus more lawyers
to begin policing the entire Internet world.
American society
has become increasingly litigious. Have a dispute?
Sue! Get a lawyer! The largest section in my local
telephone book is lawyers, over 30 pages of ads, including
the front and back covers. More than doctors, car
dealers, insurance companies, restaurants, anything.
And AAWS and the other corporate legalists in New
York have elevated the legal law above the Steps,
Traditions, and Concepts.
What harm has
been done to A.A. by the Akron A.A.
member and I.W.S. who published the facsimile 1939
A.A. Big Book and the paperback big book? None. What
harm have the Mexican and German A.A. members done
by reprinting the AA Big Book? None. What harm have
booksellers on eBay done to A.A. by offering
thousands of A.A. literature works to A.A. members
seeking A.A. history? None.
For the first
50 years of A.A. avoided self-promotion,
public controversy, outside issues (lawsuits), and
the pitfalls of greed, power, and authority. A.A.
has not needed to defend itself against critics and
enemies because it has had very few and many more
who have praised A.A.
Sadly, since the
1980s, A.A.W.S. has employed lawyers and
made enemies within the Fellowship in Mexico, Germany,
the United States and worldwide on the web and eBay.
A GSO research
report revealed A.A.W.S. and GSO have spent
$1,527,415.00 on legal fees and lawyers from 1993
to 2005 . That’s an average of $117,493.00 a
year to protect their copyrights, trademarks, to kick
people off eBay and the internet.
That was the cost
to A.A.W.S. The cost to A.A. members in the U.S.,
Mexico, Germany, etc., is hard to estimate, but we
know it was $300,000.00 in Mexico, over $100,000.00
in Germany and who knows how much money, time and
work it cost the A.A. members who had 735
items kicked off eBay.
Once the door
was opened to lawsuits by A.A.W.S. against
A.A. members, is it any wonder that A.A.W.S.
would be sued in turn? It is not within the boundaries
of this article to pursue this but one can see what
happens by going to http://www.aagso.org/#new,
dropping down the page to “Baldwin Institute”
and clicking there. You will find information on a
$20 million lawsuit against A.A.W.S. by the
Baldwin Institute. More lawsuits… more MONEY.
The point is that this legal road A.A.W.S.
is traveling is costing a ton of money that could
be used to carry the message to the suffering alcoholic.
Minority
Voices
“…making the minority voice both clear
and loud.” (Bill W. 1965)
Many minority
voices deserve our thanks for speaking out and publishing
much of the material here. Work on this paper has
included many prominent A.A. historians,
authors, GSC Delegates, collectors and archivists,
trusted servants, and fine A.A. members.
They have agreed with the basic thesis of this paper
and provided material, guidance, and criticism. Protecting
their anonymity, they know who they are, and I thank
them.
They are knowledgeable
but the Fellowship-at-large has been kept in the dark
about these issues. These legal controversies have
been kept off the agenda of the General Service Conference,
buried in Trustees committees (often controlled by
those who favor legality over spirituality), and sidetracked
through parliamentary rules. The majority voice, the
thousands of A.A. Groups, the Fellowship,
has been consciously ignored. No regional forums devoted
to the entire topic. No mention in the AA Grapevine,
Box 4-5-9, or any other A.A. communications
with the groups.
One past delegate
from a Northern state had these comments: The General
Service Board of Trustees and AAWS puts “business
before principles. And the delegates are uninformed
and not good enough. The General Service Conference
is so weak. There is entirely too much publishing.
It is time for some of these trusted servants in New
York, including the general manager of GSO and some
Trustees, to either resign or be fired!” He
attended the General Service Conference, the last
one where Lois W. and Dr. Jack Norris appeared. He
met them. “Back then we couldn’t get any
background material from GSO except for the committee
we served on. We changed that,” he said.
Thus, it is paramount
that the minority voice here and elsewhere speak out.
In that spirit, we recommend the following websites
that have extensive information on the German and
Mexican Big Book disputes, the medallions AA lawsuit
and related topics: http://aagso.org/
= http://www.aamo.info/oppf/OPPF-March2005.pdf
= http://www.aamo.info/oppf/OPPF2April2005.htm
=
http://www.aamo.info/oppf/oppf2005may.pdf
What can Individual A.A.s do about this
Mess?
1.
Step Eleven: “Sought through prayer and meditation
to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood
Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us
and the power to carry it out.”
2.
The Power of the Purse (Concept VII). Write A.A.W.S.
your group will no longer send contributions or buy
A.A. literature until the original Article 2 is reinstated
and this legal and spiritual mess is placed on the
agenda for the next General Service Conference.
3.
Homework. Search the websites listed. Inform yourself.
Hold a group conscience (Tradition Two). Talk to your
delegate.
Footnotes:
The
reader is advised to have some research books at hand:
Advisory Actions of the General Service Conference
of Alcoholics Anonymous 1951-2004. A.A.W.S.,
1978-2004 151pp; and The A.A. Service Manual
- combined with - Twelve Concepts for World Service
by Bill W. A.A.W.S., 1962-2002 Revised edition,
pp S113 and 75pp.; and, of course, the Alcoholics
Anonymous Big Book®, The Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions, and Alcoholics
Anonymous Comes of Age.)
NOTE:
Quotes of the Steps, Traditions and Concepts have
been taken from “official” A.A.-Approved
Literature listed herein.
NOTE:
The terms “Alcoholics Anonymous,”
“A.A.” and “AA”
when used to identify a business entity have been
italicized in this article to make
clear they ARE not The Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous
and ARE one of the entities and corporations using
the name “A.A.” A.A.W.S. is not the A.A.
Fellowship.
NOTE:
The term “Big Book®” is a registered
trademark of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.
1.
Advisory Actions of the General Service Conference
of Alcoholics Anonymous (ADGSCAA) 1951-2004,
page 60.
2. Summary from an anonymous AA trusted servant.
3. Report of Ad Hoc Committee, Feb. 19, 1996.
4. CONFERENCE ADVISORY ACTIONS 1953, page 32.
5. These three recommendations are quoted from Advisory
Actions of the General Service Conference of Alcoholics
Anonymous 1951-2004.
6. The A.A. Service Manual – combined
with = Twelve Concepts for World Service by Bill
W. A.A.W.S., 1962-2002, see page S86.
And Advisory
Actions of the General Service Conference of Anonymous
Alcoholics 1951-2004. A.A.W.S., 1978-2003,
pp 100-101
7. In ACGSCAA, p. 147, in 1995. For
a full discussion of this censure go to: http://gsowatch.aamo.info/ce/cens94.htm.
8. Several web sites provide extensive information
on the history of the Mexican lawsuit involving AAWS,
Inc.: www.aagso.org/
, scroll to “public
controversy on behalf of AAWS Inc. in Mexico.”
About the Author
The
Bishop of Books is celebrating 31 years as a full-time
Antiquarian Bookseller-Appraiser specializing in the
Literature of Alcoholics Anonymous and Alcoholism.
Bishop has published 11 books on A.A. and The History
of Alcoholism. He co-authored To Be Continued…The
Alcoholics Anonymous World Bibliography 1935-1994.
He has appraised the libraries of Dr. Robert H. Smith,
Co-Founder of A.A.; of Ernest Kurtz, author of “NOT-GOD:
A History of Alcoholics Anonymous; of Clarence
Snyder, Cleveland A.A. founder; and of William Duncan
Silkworth, M.D. (see the “Doctor’s Opinion”
in the Big Book@); and The Hazelden Archives, as well
as numerous private collections. He sold his private
alcoholism library of 15,000 items to Brown University
where it resides as The Chester Kirk Collection of
Alcoholics Anonymous and Alcoholism. He published
the national annual Sobriety Calendar 1990-2002. Over
the years Bishop has issued 50 sale catalogs of Literature
about Alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous. He served
as Area 73 Archivist for West Virginia A.A. for six
years. He serves on the Board of Directors of the
Institute for Research, Education and Training on
Addictions (IRETA) in Pittsburgh, Pa. Bishop is a
1960 B.A. graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University.
He lives in Wheeling, West Virginia. He can be emailed
at bishopbk@comcast.net
©
(2-14-2006) and (10-11-2007)
He
lives at 46 Eureka Ave., Wheeling, WV 26003
Phone:
(304) 242-2937.
E-mail:
bishopbk@comcast.net
Thanks,
God bless, servus, Charlie Bishop, Jr.
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