FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

(Q1) How much do the custom leather book covers cost?

(Q2) What methods can I use to pay for a quotation?

(Q3) How long does it take to make the cover once payment is made?

(Q4) Do you ship outside the United States?

(Q5) Do you make Bible covers?

(Q6) Can I get a discount for multiple (wholesale price) covers?

(Q7) Why are you allowed to use the Alcoholics Anonymous Circle/Triangle symbol, but not the Al-Anon, CA, OA, GA, etc. symbols?

(Q8) Why can you use text from the First or Second Edition of the Big Book, but not the Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions or other AA literature?

(Q9) Why can’t you use the image I’ve sent you?

(Q10) Do you make covers for other than the hardcover Big Book and the hardcover Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions?

(Q11) Do you make zipper closures for the book covers like the Bible store Bible covers?

(Q12) Does the lacing or sewing last longer?

(Q13) Why do you only use black or off-white thread?

(Q14) Why do you stop using black leather lace?

(Q15) Do you have any ready made Big Book covers?

(Q16) Can you match colors of leather?

(Q17) There are some marks on the leather. Is this normal?

(Q18) Is the lettering always black on a saddle tan appliqué?

(Q19) Why don’t you do suede leather covers any more?

(Q20) Are there less expensive Big Book Covers?

(Q21) Do you fix AA books that have pages coming apart, torn off covers?

(Q22) Can you make me a cover exactly like one you have made before?

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(Q1) How much do the custom leather book covers cost? (Note: This page allows you to try different options to put the options you want together and produces a total cost including taxes, if applicable, and shipping)

(1) It all depends on how you wanted it customized. Basically, subject to change,
the is a base price for each size of plain cover with no customization
and the cover is sewn. The number in the brackets “[  ]” is
the AA World Services catalog number:

  • 75th Anniversary Commemorative Edition of AA Hardcover slip-on leather cover [B0] (9-1/4” by 6-1/4”) is $89.95
  • Basic Hardcover Big Book slip-on leather cover [B1] (8-1/2” by 5-3/4”) is $79.95
  • Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions Book [B2] (8-1/2″ by 5-3/4″) is $79.95
  • Dual Big Book and Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions Book slip-on leather cover [B1/2] (8-1/2” by 5-3/4”) is $159.95
  • Portable Big Book [B30] slip-on leather cover (4-1/2” by 7”) is $54.95
  • Pocket Big Book slip-on leather cover [B35] (3-1/2″ by 5-1/2″) is $44.95
  • Pocket Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions Book slip-on leather cover [B17] (3-1/2″ by 5-1/2″) is $44.95
  • Dual Pocket Leather Big Book and Pocket Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions Book slip-on leather cover [B35/17] (3-1/2″ by 5-1/2″) is $95.95
  • Large Print Big Book slip-on leather cover [B16] (7” by 10-1/4”) is $109.95
  • Large Print Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions Book slip-on leather cover [B14] (7” by 10-1/4”) is $109.95
  • Dual Large Print Leather Big Book and Large Print Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions book slip-on leather cover [B16/14] (7” by 10 1/4”) is $215.95

(2) Now many options are available, subject to change, to be added on an applique
(saddle tan colored patch with black lettering) sewn on slip-on leather cover.
The measurements are a guide to:

  • Optional Name on the cover: — add $5
  • Optional Sobriety Date on the cover: — add $0
  • Serenity Prayer (approx. 3.0″w x 1.75″h) on leather applique — add $5
  • Third Step Prayer (approx. 3.75″w x 3.25″h) on leather applique — add $10
  • Promises (approx. 4.0″w x 6.0″h) on leather applique — add $20
  • Circle/Triangle on leather applique (approx. 2.5″w x 2.5″h) — add $5
    • Plain Circle/Triangle (no words)
    • Circle/Triangle with legacy words: Unity, Recovery & Service words
    • Circle/Triangle with legacy words: Unity, Recovery & Service words, plus “Trust God”, “Clean House” & “Help Others around the outside of the circle words)
  • Plain Medallion Holder — add $20
  • Medallion Holder with “Trust God, Clean House, Help Others” around the holder — add $20
  • Quotation on leather applique (Note: $0.70 per word for the first 30 words, additional words $1.10 ea.)
  • Custom Carved Designs (feathers, dragons, flowers, etc. please describe:) — add $85

(3) Select additional options, subject to change, for basic slip-on leather cover

  • Strap and Snap to keep the cover closed (note: pens/highlighters/pencils with clips can clip on this snap)– add $10
  • Pen or Highlighter holder — add $15
  • Strap/Snap and Pen holder Combo to keep the cover closed — add $25

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(Q2) What methods can I use to pay for a quotation?

  • This newer website will allow you to order and pay on-line, with a credit card, any pre-assembled cover.
  • I will send an invoice that allows you to pay with credit card (VISA or Master Charge) or PayPal.
  • If you have a PayPal account, you can send the payment to the PayPal account ( leathercover1990@gmail.com )
  • Send a Personal Check or Money Order, drawn on US bank funds, to:
    Desert Leathercraft LLC
    2532 Banyon St.
    Richland, WA 99352-4117
    Returned checks subject to a $25 service charge.
  • Call and use VISA or Master Charge (requires name, card number, expiration date, billing address, CCV code and email address for receipt) Note: Information will taken over the phone 509-392-2589, do not send information in any email message.)

In any case, be sure to provide a shipping address.

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(Q3) How long does it take to make the cover once payment is made?

Short ANSWER: 2-days (for pre-assembled covers)

  • These covers already have been assembled and could have a name, sobriety date, or short quote sewn on the spine.

Short ANSWER: 2-4+ weeks (for customized covers)

  • If it is a rush (AA B-day, etc.) and you need it in a day or two, you can print out a picture of the one of the pictures in the gallery and tell the recipient that a cover similar to the one you have printed will be on its way in 2-4+ weeks.
  • I try to balance the work so that gifts make it out the quickest and personal use later.  The quoted time may extend depending on the number of orders in process.
  • The CUSTOM covers are created from scratch. Nothing is pre-made nor are there any short cuts taken to speed the process.

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(Q4) Do you ship outside the United States?

No. There are lessons learned from experience. There is a very high cost to the customer both for the basic shipping cost and the insurance. Last time I sent a book cover to Canada it was almost $40 just for the shipping of a Basic Big Book cover. There is also an additional cost to the customer for duties imposed by their country. I’ve been asked to ship as a gift to avoid some countries duties, but that goes against my choice to be honest in my actions.

When covers were lost there was additional time and effort to recover the insurance money–time lost away from making covers.

There may be alternatives to get custom made leather AA literature covers. If you have a friend in the US, I would be happy to receive the payment from them, make the cover and send send to them allowing them to ship overseas.

Or, there are other custom leather book cover makers that may ship overseas. Here are some samples (links may not be up to date):

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(Q5) Do you make Bible covers?

No, but there are many custom leather Bible cover makers on the Internet. Here are some samples (links may not be up to date):

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(Q6) Can I get a discount for multiple (wholesale price) covers?

No, each cover is hand crafted. They are not pre-assembled or made on an assembly line and each is made to the customers specifications.

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(Q7) Why are you allowed to use the Alcoholics Anonymous Circle/Triangle symbol, but not the Al-Anon, CA, OA, GA, etc. symbols?

The Al-Anon CA, OA, GA, etc. logo symbols are currently protected by copyright and cannot be used without permission. I did receive a “one-time” use for the CA (Cocaine Anonymous) for 2 covers.

There is an excerpt from the US Patent and Trade office to show that Alcoholics Anonymous released the Circle/Triangle Logo trademark in August 2006.

This data is from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Trademark Electronic Search System — TESS)

  • Word Mark AA UNITY SERVICE RECOVERY
    Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 016. US 038. G & S: BOOKS, PAMPHLETS AND PRINTED CARDS DEALING WITH ALCOHOLISM. FIRST USE: 1955/02/01. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 1955/02/01
    Mark Drawing Code (3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS
    Design Search Code 26.01.02 – Circles, plain single line; Plain single line circles 26.05.21 – Triangles that are completely or partially shaded
    Serial Number 73524211
    Registration Number 1371267
    Owner (REGISTRANT) ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. CORPORATION NEW YORK 468 PARK AVENUE SOUTH NEW YORK NEW YORK 10016
    Attorney of Record CYNTHIA C. WEBER
    Prior Registrations 1322117;AND OTHERS
    Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE “SERVICE RECOVERY” APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
    Type of Mark TRADEMARK
    Register PRINCIPAL
    Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR).
    Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
    Cancellation Date August 26, 2006

    AAWS allowed the 1st Edition copyright of the Alcoholics Anonymous (
    Big Book) to lapse in 1967 and the copyright on the 2nd Edition lapsed in 1983. Thus placing both editions in the public domain forever. There has not been a valid US copyright on the main text of Alcoholics Anonymous for more than 40 years.

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(Q8) Why can you use text from the First or Second Edition of the Big Book, but not the Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions or other AA literature?

(from http://anonpress.org/faq/239 ):

The 1986 General Service Conference Final Report explains the end of the book’s US copyright this way:

The copyright on the first edition of the Big Book lapsed in 1967, and the copyright on the new material in the second edition lapsed in 1983-both because of a failure to renew them in a timely fashion. There was a mistaken belief that registering the copyright on the second edition in 1956 served to revive the copyright on the first edition; the misconception continued, with respect to the second edition, when the third edition was copyrighted in 1976. (From page 15)The laws for copyright in place in The USA at the time the Big Book was written were different from the laws in place in most countries. In 1938 US law stipulated that, in order to receive the longest possible term of protection, a copyright had to be renewed, in writing, after 30 years.

Meanwhile, in most of the world, and under later copyright treaties, all written works received an automatic term of protection equal to the natural life of the author(s) plus 50 years from their death. No paperwork was, or is, required under this system. The US has adopted this system, but earlier law governs books authored in 1938.

AA World Service, which inherited the copyright Bill W. claimed on the book, did not renew the copyright. As a result, there is no dispute that the book has been in the public domain in the US since 1967. Nobody “owns” the Big Book in The USA. Anyone can reproduce it without seeking permission from anyone. Not so for other countries.

The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, as I understand, maintained and renewed the copyright of the publication up to the current edition. Therefore, I treat the text as copyrighted. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions has the Prayer of St. Francis as modified for AA.  The Christian prayer is in public domain.

In most of the published versions of the prayer, the text is abridged, paraphrased, and/or copyrighted (as with AA’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions). Below is the complete original text from its earliest known publication (1912, in French, copyright expired), with an English translation.  This version can be placed on any book cover.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.

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(Q9) Why can’t you use the image I’ve sent you?

I make a cursory search of see if the image is copyrighted and make a judgment based on the search and your insurance that the image is not copyrighted. If find that it is copyrighted, then I will ask you to contact the owner of the image or logo and provide a written copy of permission to use the image for single use.

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(Q10) Do you make covers for other than the hardcover Big Book and the hardcover Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions?

Yes, I make covers for all the major AA literature—large print, standard hard copy, soft copy, portable and pocket. Even the As Bill See It, Pass It On, AA Comes of Age, Dr. Bob and the Good Old timers, Daily Reflections if I have the same size book as you do.

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(Q11) Do you make zipper closures for the book covers like the Bible store Bible covers?

No, I’m not very good at zipper closures.  If you need a zippered cover just visit a Bible Store.  They have many sizes and options that will work for you.

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(Q12) Does the lacing or sewing last longer?

I no longer offer lacing, due to labor costs. However, I have made both types and they are still in use after 27-years.

What is lacing construction? The lacing or braiding is black cow leather.  It is hand braided with a triple loop cordovan style braid and is either braided completely all around the edges of the cover.  This type of assemble completely covers the cut edge of the leather.

What is sewing construction? The sewing is #207 bonded polyester thread that is machine stitched all around the edges of the cover.  The same stitching is used to sew the applique, medallion holder or snap/strap  pen/highlight holder.  This type of assembly leave the cut edge of the leather visible and that edge is dyed black.

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(Q13) Why do you only use black or off-white thread?

It was too hard to keep an inventory of all the different colors and try to get the color that the customer wanted in the #207 bonded polyester thread. Now I only offer sewing with black or white #207 bonded polyester thread.

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(Q14) Why do you stop using black leather lace?

It has become too costly and time consuming. I takes over 5-hours to lace a leather cover.  If you really need lacing its about $100 depending on the book size. 

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(Q15) Do you have any ready made Big Book covers?

Yes, when they are available they are found on the shop page.

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(Q16) Can you match colors of leather?

The hardest part of communicating color preferences the customer and me is that pictures taken with a camera, posted in email or in the gallery are viewed with the customers monitor or phone.  Each camera, monitor or phone skew the true color.  I try to match what the customer wants from their color description, referenced picture in the gallery, or using some of the color references even crayon colors:  Crayola®_crayon_standard colors 

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(Q17) There are some marks on the leather. Is this normal?

Leather is a natural product and may have some defects (e.g. range markings: healed scars, bug bites, brands, etc.).  Those marking are natural in real leather.

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(Q18) Is the lettering always black on a saddle tan appliqué?

Yes.  I’ve experimented with other colors of antique pigmented dyes, but the saddle tan antique dye seems to work the best.  The properties of the antique dyes allow the impressed (embossed) text and carved images to have the dark color making the text stand out and readable.  It also allows the carvings to have more definition. 

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(Q19) Why don’t you do suede leather covers any more?

The darker colored suede leathers have what is called “rub off”.  This where the dye can be transferred to light colored clothing.  Also, the lighter colored suede leathers will stain quite easily from the oils in the hands and from non-cleaned table tops.  If you absolutely have to have a suede leather cover I will make one from the remaining stock of suede.  The colors on hand are:  Forest Green, Pink, Red, Black, Rust, Purple, and several blues: Navy Blue, Royal Blue, Teal Blue, Medium Blue.  When the these suede leathers are gone–they are gone.

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(Q20) Are there less expensive Big Book Covers?

If handmade custom Leather Book Covers seem too costly to you there are other places to obtain book covers for your Big Book, and other AA literature. I would recommend Culver Enterprises, Inc. for the largest variety of commercially manufactured leather and vinyl book covers. They are located at:

  • Culver Enterprises, Inc. 
    743 Porter Lane
    Grants Pass, OR 97527
    Email: ice-bookcovers@charter.net
    Phone: 541-474-7655
    Fax: 541-474-0912
    www.ce-bookcovers.com

Their leather Big Book Covers sell for $31.95 (price subject to change and shipping is extra) and has the Serenity Prayer, Pen Holder, Strap, Metal Corners and Medallion holder on it and comes only in black.

They also have a Leather-like vinyl Big Book Cover sells for $15.95 (price subject to change and shipping is extra) with Serenity Prayer & Medallion Holder that comes in several colors.

Additionally, they make covers for all sizes and some dual book covers.

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(Q21) Do you fix AA books that have pages coming apart, torn off covers?

No, I don’t have all the book binding tools needed to do a good job.  I recommend The Book Fixer.

 

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(Q22) Can you make me a cover exactly like one you have made before?

Here is just a little information about past projects. Over the last 30-years I’ve purchased many sides or complete hides of leather from various leather distributors (some are no longer in business).

After I complete a book cover, I take a photo of it and usually post it somewhere. The photos are NOT an accurate indicator of the color of the leather. The lighting, the camera, and your monitor interpret the color. After a careful look at past pictures, it looks like the lighting was was with an incandescent bulb, so the image has a yellowish tinge. I now use a daylight bulb, but even that does not produce an exact color representation. Sometimes the hide of leather has been used up and I no longer have that particular hide. If I purchase a new hide, it won’t be the exact color as the old leather. I tell people this because they fall in love with the vision an old completed cover and then are not happy with the new cover. Also, many people want the exact pebble grain that they see and each hide is different with different grain patterns from almost smooth to a deep grain.

 

(Q7A) Interesting story about the AA Circle Triangle

(Note: The following article was posted by Alcoholics Anonymous Cleveland District Office and can be found here: https://www.aacle.org/whatever-happened-to-the-circle-and-triangle/?fbclid=IwAR2tgBcM0oUQvIh6xSLMLERWeI-vBf2IRGS62Uya3ct1AQpxZxOW-cbraSM )

Whatever Happened to the Circle and Triangle?

Adopted at the 20th Anniversary International Convention in St. Louis, the circle and triangle symbol was registered as an official AA mark in 1955, and has been widely used by various AA entities. By the mid-1980s, however, it had also begun to be used by outside organizations, such as novelty manufacturers, publishers, and occasionally treatment facilities. There was growing concern in the membership of AA about this situation.

Some AA members were saying “we don’t want our circle and triangle aligned with non-AA purposes.” In keeping with the Sixth Tradition, that AA “. . . ought never endorse, finance or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise . . .”, the AA World Services board began in 1986 to contact outside entities that were using the circle and triangle in an unauthorized manner, and to take action to prevent such use of the symbol. AAWS implemented this policy with restraint, and did not resort to legal remedies until all attempts at persuasion and conciliation had been unsuccessful. Of about 170 unauthorized users contacted, two suits were filed and both were settled in the very early stages.

Denying the use of the symbol to outside entities raised other problems, however. By early 1990, it was clear that some AA members very much wanted to be able to obtain medallions with “our” circle and triangle. Both the AAWS and Grapevine Corporate boards began receiving requests to produce sobriety chips and medallions, and the matter was discussed at a joint meeting of the two boards in October 1990. Their consensus was that production of tokens and medallions was unrelated to our primary purpose of carrying the AA message, and they suggested that the matter be given a thorough airing at the General Service Conference in order to seek a group conscience from the Fellowship.

At the 1992 Conference, there were presentations on why we should or should not produce medallions, and on the responsibility of AAWS to protect our trademarks and copyrights. The result was a Conference Advisory Action asking the General Service Board of trustees to undertake a feasibility study on the possible methods by which sobriety chips and medallions might be made available to the Fellowship, and to report its findings to an ad hoc committee of delegates.

The ad hoc committee met prior to the 1993 Conference, for several full days of discussion and deliberation, and in turn presented its report and recommendations on the Conference floor. After discussion, the Conference approved two of five recommendations: 1) that the use of sobriety chips/medallions is a matter of local autonomy and not one on which the Conference should record a definite position; and 2) that it is not appropriate for AA World Services or the Grapevine to produce or license the production of sobriety chips/medallions.

In substance, the ad hoc committee report said: “We began to see that the issue is ‘What is best for AA as a whole’ and not ‘Does the Fellowship want AA sobriety chips/medallions?’ or ‘Can AA produce sobriety chips/medallions?’”

The committee did not focus on the use of sobriety chips/medallions – groups and individuals are free to use them if they wish. The question is whether it is best for AA as a whole to have a sobriety chip/medallion with the AA name on it authorized and/or issued by an AA entity.

Some of the comments made during the Traditions part of the discussion included:

The First Tradition – At the heart of the matter is unity . . .

The Second Tradition – Therein lies our solution. Where is our ultimate authority and where is our center? Is it internal or external – principles arising from a power greater than people, or val­ues of the world? We must keep in mind that this is also the place where Bill W. points out that ‘. . . the good is sometimes the enemy of the best.’

The Third Tradition – We were reminded that we are a self-correcting Fellowship . . . We felt that it is time for the whole Fellowship to get back to the simplicity and basis of our message.

The Fourth Tradition makes it clear that we must separate the spiritual from the material. Keeping in mind that any action we take could affect AA as a whole . . .

The Fifth Tradition – The Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, AA Comes of Age, and The Twelve Concepts for World Service’ – are the basic message, the core message of AA. Everything else is commentary on the basic message: all literature published, comments and sharing at meetings, even the Grapevine, is a sort of national commentary. Could chips/medallions be another form of commentary, another form of a pamphlet?

The Sixth Tradition calls on us to ‘divide the spiritual from the material.’ Money is not a valid consideration in the question of whether or not litigation should be brought against misusers of our logo since AA is not in the business of making money. Similarly, the fear that others would be making money off our logo does not hurt the Fellowship on a fundamental level. How do we let go of this tiger we have by the tail? . . . We are at the tip of the iceberg of litigation right now . . . We went many, many years without lawsuits. To continue on this path threatens to keep our focus on money and property instead of allowing our view to widen spiritually.

The Seventh Tradition reminds us ‘Experience has often warned us that nothing can so surely destroy our spiritual heritage as futile disputes over property, money and authority.’

The Eleventh Tradition – explicitly warns against the sensationalism that follows litigation. It is essentially negative attention and puts the Fellowship at risk.

The Twelfth Tradition – Humility is the key, working from the internal to the external, from the smaller to the larger, from ‘I’ to ‘We,’ in a spirit of humility and trust. What course of action will keep us on the path of spirituality? . . .

“The committee spent a great length of time in the discussion of the Warranties. Warranty Five states:

“‘Practically all societies and governments feel it necessary to inflict personal punishment upon individual members for violations of their beliefs, principles or laws. Because of its special situation. Alcoholics Anonymous finds this practice unnecessary. When we of AA fail to follow sound spiritual principles, alcohol cuts us down. Therefore, no humanly administered system of penalties is needed. This unique condition is an enormous advantage to us all, one on which we can fully rely and one which we should never abandon by a resort to the methods of personal attack and punishment. . . .

” ‘In case the AA name should be misapplied . . . it would of course be the duty of our General Service Conference to press for the discontinuance of such a practice – always short, however of public quarreling about the matter. . . It was recognized that a public lawsuit is a public controversy, something in which our Tradition says we may not engage.’

“The chips/medallions and trademark questions were dealt with as separately as possible. The committee felt that a distinction could be drawn between the two in terms of their respective significance to AA. The trademark (logo) is the embodiment of the AA name. The significance of its shape is described in AA Comes of Age, page 139: ‘The circle stands for the whole world of AA, and the triangle stands for AA’s Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service . . . The priests and seers of antiquity regarded the circle enclosing the triangle as a means of warding off spirits of evil, and AA’s circle and triangle of Recovery, Unity, and Service has certainly meant all of that to us and much more.’

“Medallions, on the other hand, are not universally considered an embodiment of the Fellowship as such. Many stories are told about the role that the coins play in an individual’s continuing sobriety: the coins act as symbolic recognition of the length of sobriety. They are not the sobriety itself and any attempt to make medallions more than a symbol may lead perilously towards ego-inflation, self-glorification, rather than ego-deflation (see Tradition Twelve).

“The committee felt that the desire to protect the unique meaning of AA’s symbol is at the foundation of litigation, as well as the fear of the trivialization of the mark. But despite the vehemence with which we feel ‘ownership’ of the symbol, we suspect that the belief that we (or anyone) can ‘possess’ the symbol is a fallacy.

“It actually works against the foundation of the Steps that lead us to sobriety. Ownership necessarily involves control and to argue over that control through litigation takes the focus away from the fact that we are ultimately powerless. We can own the meaning of the symbol, and if someone uses the graphic, our meaning will not be diminished, as long as we keep the principles it represents in sight.

“The committee finally questioned the goals of litigation, what would actually be gained from a lawsuit. We suspect that the harm done internally as a result of litigation would be far worse than the harm others could do to our ‘property’ from the outside. At the base of this approach is the trust that is the foundation of AA. It is our trust that AA principles will work to protect our name, just as our trust in God is the foundation of our program and of our lives. Warranty Five says that we can ‘. . . confidently trust AA opinion, public opinion, and God Himself to take care of Alcoholics Anonymous. . . ”

“Concept Seven states ‘[The Conference] Charter itself is not a legal document. . . it relies instead upon the force of tradition. . . for its final effectiveness.’

“To us, the fear that the incorporation of the symbol by others outside the Fellowship would somehow detract from the significance of the symbol is really unfounded. No one outside the Fellowship can detract from AA’s strength if we stick to the Steps, Traditions and Concepts, which unite us.

“The registered trademarks, service marks and logos are symbols of our spiritual Fellowship, Alcoholics Anonymous, and should be treated as such.

“The General Service Conference is a living entity. From the group conscience will eventually emerge an expression of the will of a loving Power greater than ourselves proven to be firmly linked to the Traditions and Warranties, keeping us safe for as long as we are needed.”

The ad hoc committee report was debated on Tuesday and Thursday of Conference week, and the subject of chips and medallions came up again during a final sharing session on Friday. The chairperson of the AAWS Board made the follow­ing statement at that time: “The AAWS Board will immediately begin a thorough review of its policies regarding our marks, will do everything possible to avoid initiating litigation, and will prepare a revised policy statement to be ready for next year’s Conference.”

Immediately after the Conference, the General Service Board accepted AAWS’s recommendation to discontinue protecting the circle and triangle symbol as one of AA’s registered marks. And by early June, the trustees reached substantial unanimity in support of AAWS’s statement that, to avoid the suggestion of association or affiliation with outside goods and services, AA World Services, Inc. would phase out the “official” or “legal” use of the circle and triangle.

If you’re wondering how to identify Conference-approved literature in the future, it will carry the words “This is AA General Service Conference-approved literature.” As pieces of literature are due for reprinting, the symbol will be deleted; and new materials will carry only the Conference-approved wording.

Like the Serenity Prayer and the slogans, which have never had official recognition, the circle and triangle will most likely continue to be used widely for many AA purposes. The dif­ference from earlier practice is that its official use to denote Alcoholics Anonymous materials will be phased out.

(This material is adapted from the August-September issue of the GSO newsletter Box 4-5-9; portions of the ad hoc committee report are taken from the Final Report of the 1993 General Service Conference.)

Copyright © The AA Grapevine, Inc. December 1993