Dear Fellows,

The Board of Trustees is sending this letter to remind the Fellowship how important it is to protect the Overeaters Anonymous name and logo.

It is normal practice for any entity to protect its intellectual property. OA owns the text of OA Conference- and board-approved literature and materials we as a Fellowship create in English and any language in which that literature or material is translated. With these rights, OA may take actions to prevent people and organizations outside of OA from misusing our literature to, for example, distort our message or take OA property as their own.

Further, OA, Inc. has responsibilities, as accorded to it by OA Bylaws Subpart A, Article II Section 2: “The Corporation is the guardian of the world services and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous and shall preserve the exclusive right to use the name Overeaters Anonymous.”

Overeaters Anonymous has approximately 6,500 meetings in more than 80 countries. We have face-to-face, telephone, and online meetings. To register with the World Service Office (WSO), OA meetings must fulfill the definition of an OA group. This means the group must (1) meet to practice the Twelve Steps and Traditions of OA, guided by the Twelve Concepts of OA Service; (2) welcome all who have the desire to stop eating compulsively; (3) not require members to practice any actions to remain a member or to share at a meeting; (4) as a group, have no affiliation other than OA; and (5) have affiliated as an Overeaters Anonymous group by registering with the World Service Office.

Unregistered Meetings

Only a registered OA group has the right, by permission, to use our name and logo (trademark).

This letter is to inform all unregistered groups calling themselves “Overeaters Anonymous” that  the group must register with Overeaters Anonymous or change its group name by May 15, 2019.

Upon failure to register by May 15, 2019, groups may receive notification from OA’s Board of Trustees regarding the group’s trademark infringement and granting a final opportunity to register. If the group fails to register, the WSO will contact the group’s online service provider seeking the group’s “take down” for reason of trademark infringement.

Logo Use

By written permission, OA, Inc. may grant the right to use its logo in connection with official OA business by any registered OA group or service body, provided that any material upon which the logo will be affixed includes the name of the group or service body (to distinguish such material from the materials of Overeaters Anonymous, Inc.) and provided that any such material is submitted in advance to OA’s Corporate Secretary for approval. OA reserves the right to rescind any such permission given to use its logo, at any time, upon notice to any group or service body.

To request permission to use the OA logo, go to the OA Copyright and Trademark Requests page on oa.org and download the Logo Request Form.

Literature

In order to maintain unity and honor our Traditions, it is suggested that only OA-approved literature be read at OA meetings. (See OA’s Statement on Approved Literature, Business Conference Policy Manual, 2010a [Amended 2012, 2023].) OA’s members and groups may speak of outside literature in nonspecific terms, but it is recommended that neither the title nor the author be named.

Overeaters Anonymous has spent considerable time and money to develop its literature and owns the copyright for all OA literature. Members and groups may not reprint or post OA literature (in any digital medium) without written permission from OA, Inc. To request reprint permission, go to the OA Copyright and Trademark Requests page on oa.org and download the Reprint Request Form.

The theme of a reading or a quote from OA literature can be posted. For guidance on what is allowed under “fair use,” see https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html.

Some OA-approved literature may be reprinted and posted by registered OA groups and service bodies without written permission. For a list, go to the OA Copyright and Trademark Requests page and read the “Items not needing written permission” section.

Your Support

When OA literature is distributed without permission, OA must take action in every known instance to have the unauthorized reprint removed. If not, OA may lose its right of ownership for that piece of literature.

To purchase OA literature, visit the OA bookstore at bookstore.oa.org. Thank you for supporting OA literature.

Yours in service,
Board of Trustees

Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. World Service Office
Location: 6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, USA
Mailing address: PO Box 44727, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4727, USA
Telephone: +1 505-891-2664