ROTARY EMBLEM ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS?
"ROTARY," "ROTARY CLUB," "ROTARY INTERNATIONAL," "RI," "ROTARY INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SERVICE," "RITS," "ROTARY.ORG," "ROTARIAN," "THE
ROTARIAN," "ROTARY WORLD," "REVISTA ROTARIA," "SERVICE ABOVE SELF," "INTERACT," "INTERACT CLUB,""INTERACTIVE," "ROTARACT," "ROTARACT CLUB," , "PAUL HARRIS FELLOW," "PAUL HARRIS FELLOW and Design" (the Image of PAUL HARRIS), "POLIOPLUS."
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The following is some general information about the Rotary Marks. Over the years, there have been several significant changes regarding their use, in order to bring greater clarity to information regarding the use of all the Rotary Marks and particularly the ROTARY name and the ROTARY Emblem.
Therefore, it is important that you are familiar with Chapter 17 of the Manual of Procedure 2007, pages 149-161 and RI Code of Policies Articles 33 and 34.
District Governors should use the proper Rotary Emblem and they should encourage the Rotary clubs in their district to do the same. When an improper Rotary Emblem is discovered on a club's letterhead, for example, it should be brought to the club's attention. The club should be advised to correct the Rotary Emblem the next time its letterhead is reprinted.
Neither the Rotary Emblem nor any of the Rotary Marks may be altered, modified or obstructed in any way, nor reproduced other than in their complete form. Also, neither the ROTARY name nor the Rotary Emblem should be used in connection with the name or emblem of any other organization or company, except in accordance with RI's sponsorship and cooperative relationship policies. (RCP 33.010.2, 33.010.4, 33.010.7, 33.0206, 11.040.6)
Sheets containing camera-ready examples of the Rotary Emblem and many of the other Rotary Marks, including the proper color separation for the Rotary Marks are available from your CDS representative. Rotary Logos on CD can be purchased online at www.rotary.org. Many of the Rotary Marks can also be downloaded from www.rotary.org.
The most common improper reproductions of the Rotary Emblem are as follows:
1) the keyway is missing from the center of the Rotary Emblem,
2) the keyway is filled with color rather than "left blank" (to allow the insertion of a key into the gear wheel),
3) the Rotary Emblem is partially covered. In order to preserve the integrity of the Rotary Emblem, it must be reproduced in its entirety.
Club executives and many club bulletin editors should be aware that the Rotary Emblem should not be used as a watermark on stationary.
The official description of the Rotary Emblem can be found at pages 159-160 in Chapter 17 of the Manual of Procedure 2007 and RI Code of Policies Section 33.010.1. The Rotary Emblem can be printed in any single color or two colors. When the Rotary Emblem is printed in two colors, it must be in its official colors of royal blue and gold. These are PANTONE 286 Blue for the blue and PANTONE 871 for metallic gold or PANTONE 123C or PANTONE 115U Gold (yellow).
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In light of the RI Board's responsibility to maintain and preserve the Rotary Emblem and with a view to continuing the protection of all of the Rotary Marks, the RI Board established and maintains a licensing system. The licensing system currently maintains over 300 individuals, Rotary clubs, and corporations as Official Licensees for an array of products. RI's licensing system underwent immense growth and re-direction during the mid-1990's, during which time RI implemented a new multi-tiered licensing system in order to better serve Rotarians, as well as RI's Official Licensees.
Any individual or company wishing to sell goods containing the Rotary name, the Rotary Emblem or any of the other Rotary Marks (all collectively referred to as "Rotary Emblem Merchandise"), including those companies that manufacture the goods, must be licensed by RI (unless otherwise specifically authorized by RI). In this way, RI can maintain control over who is reproducing and/or selling its intellectual property and the manner in which its intellectual property is reproduced and sold. This control also helps to maintain consistent quality in the
reproduction of the Rotary Emblem and other Rotary Marks, ensuring accurate and faithful reproduction on quality goods.
RI realizes that clubs and districts often desire to use the Rotary Marks on merchandise sold in conjunction with fundraising events, such as a rummage sale or a 5 K run, in order to raise funds for their club or district projects. To allow for such use and to accommodate and encourage this use by Rotary clubs and districts, the RI Board of Directors authorized an exception to licensing. (RCP 34.040.2.)
Under this exception, called the "event specific" exception, Rotary clubs and districts may sell merchandise that bears the Rotary Emblem (or another of the Rotary Marks) without a license from RI where the merchandise contains, in addition to the Rotary Emblem, 1) the name of the club or district, 2) the name of the fundraising project, and 3) the date or duration of the fundraising effort. (All three of the above event specific markings must be used on the product for sale in similar proportion to and accompany the Rotary Mark(s)). For example,
the fundraising product must clearly be marked as a project of "The Rotary Club of --------, Operation Joy, December 1, 1996" or "District ----, Save Planet Earth, May 1, 1996." (See Exhibit I below.)
Under the "event specific" exception, the Rotary club or district is allowed to use cause-related marketing techniques when advertising. A mailing solicitation is allowed only pursuant to the "circularization" rules listed in the Manual of Procedure 2007 and RCP 34.010.5. (DG approval must be obtained prior to making mailings to clubs). Also, no royalties are due on sales, as long as the merchandise being sold is "event specific."
If the fundraising project is not "event specific," the Rotary club or district must apply to obtain a license from Rotary International to sell Rotary Emblem Merchandise. If the Rotary club or district has questions about whether their project requires a license, please ask them contact the Licensing Section at the World Headquarters in Evanston.
RI urges all Rotary clubs and districts wishing to pursue a fundraising effort that involves the re-sale of merchandise to purchase such merchandise only from RI's Official Licensees, as only Official Licensees are authorized to reproduce and sell goods bearing the Rotary Marks.
Rotary clubs or districts interested in purchasing merchandise bearing the Rotary Emblem or other Rotary Marks, should only buy merchandise from individuals or firms that are licensed by RI. A list of Official Licensees is published each year near the end of the RI Official Directory. However, new licenses are issued throughout the year, therefore it would be prudent to consult "Licensed Suppliers of RI Merchandise" under the "Shop" Web page of www.rotary.org. OR ROTARY DOWN UNDER in Australia. Website www.rotarydownunder.com.au . If a club or district discovers an individual or firm selling emblem merchandise that is not listed in the Official Directory or the RI website, please contact the Licensing Section.
| 34.040.1 All districts and clubs are encouraged to purchase merchandise bearing the Rotary Marks only from authorized licensees of RI. If the desired merchandise is not available from a licensee, specific approval must be sought from RI for the use of any Rotary Marks. (June 1998 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 348) Source: Nov. 1994 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 65; June 1995 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 239; Nov. 1996 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 69 |
| 34.010.5 Individuals or companies who are not licensed to sell merchandise bearing the Rotary Marks may not solicit districts, clubs or Rotarians to purchase merchandise bearing the Rotary Marks. Only vendors properly licensed by Rotary International may solicit districts, clubs or Rotarians to purchase merchandise bearing the Rotary Marks. On occasion, Rotarians will need to produce customized merchandise bearing the Rotary Marks for a specific event or purpose. All Rotarians should always first seek out licensed Rotary vendors for such customized merchandise. In the event that such customized merchandise is not reasonably available from an RI Licensee at a competitive price, RI shall issue a one-time release to a non-licensed vendor, provided that those goods are subject to the equivalent review and preapproval process as Licensed Products. In each case, the non-licensed vendor must obtain the specific approval of RI to use any of the Rotary Marks. (June 1998 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 348, emphasis added) Source: Jun. 1995 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 239; Nov. 1996 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 69; Feb. 1998 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 252 |
Those attending your district conference may enjoy purchasing souvenirs specific to the district conference, the
district itself or RI in general. If you are expecting a large attendance at your conference, you may consider renting
"exhibit booth" space to Rotary International's Official Licensees.
DISTRICT DIRECTORY
When seeking to sell advertising space for your district directory, you may wish to contact RI's Official Licensees.
SUPPORT WITH LICENSING MATTERS
Should any questions regarding licensing arise, please contact Ann Fieldhack, phone: + 847-866-4463, e-mail:
rilicensingservices@rotary.org, address: One Rotary Center, 1560 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, Illinois, 60201-
3698, U.S.A., Facsimile: + 847-866-6977.
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP AND COOPERATING ORGANIZATIONS
The RI Board has made a commitment to the careful development of sponsorship opportunities and cooperativer relationships for RI and recognizes the benefit some of these opportunities may have for clubs and districts. To this end, the Board has adopted three sets of guidelines regarding sponsors and cooperating organizations, each of which is available through your Club and District Support representative. The guidelines are also available at www.rotary.org. These guidelines will help to ensure the proper use of the Rotary Marks for sponsorship purposes, helping to protect both your club or district and the integrity of the Rotary Marks.
PUBLICATIONS
A Rotary club or district Web site is a "publication," as is a Rotary club or district newsletter. Content and design of such publications must conform to current RI policies, including policies concerning use of the Rotary Marks and those prohibiting circularization and solicitation. In particular, whenever the name "Rotary," the Rotary Emblem or other of the Rotary Marks are used, Rotary clubs and districts should use the further identifier of the name of the Rotary club or district involved. When selecting a domain name that includes the word, "Rotary," Rotary clubs and districts should also include further identifying language of the name of the Rotary Entity and not solely the word, "Rotary." Rotary clubs and districts are encouraged, before registering domain names, to check with their CDS representative to ensure their proposed domain name complies with Board policy for use of the Rotary Marks. The RI Board has developed a detailed Domain Name Registration and Maintenance Policy, which can be found at RCP 52.020.1.
Exhibit I
To qualify for the event specific exception, the merchandise sold by the club or district must include all of the following: |
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DGN Philip Clancy (Helen) |
