The Freecycle Network

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The Freecycle Network (often abbreviated TFN or just known as Freecycle) is a non-profit organization registered in the state of Arizona, USA, and separately registered as a UK charity,[1] that organizes a worldwide network of "gifting" groups, aiming to divert reusable goods from landfill. It provides a worldwide online registry, and coordinates the creation of local groups and forums for individuals and non-profits to offer and receive free items for reuse or recycling, promoting gift economics as a motivating cultural outlook. "Changing the world one gift at a time" is The Freecycle Network's official tagline.

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[edit] Background

The organization originated as a project of RISE Inc., a nonprofit corporation, to promote waste reduction in Tucson, Arizona. RISE subsequently handed it over to the project leader, Deron Beal. Beal set up the first Freecycle e-mail group for the citizens of Tucson. The concept has since spread to over 50 countries, with thousands of local groups and millions of members.

Each local group currently exists as a Yahoo! Groups mailing list run by volunteer moderators. TFN encourages the formation of new groups, subject to approval by regional New Group Approvers (NGAs). Groups approved by TFN are listed at the official website, can use the name and logo, and are subject to rules enforced by a structure of global and regional GOAs (Group Outreach Assistance). TFN originally planned to move in 2004, then in 2005, and then in early 2006 from Yahoo! Groups to a centralized site, custom-made for the purpose; these plans have now been rescheduled for 2007.

[edit] Successes

TFN has grown rapidly into a global organization of over 3800 (October 2006) local chapters [1], and passed the 2 million member mark in February 2006 [2]. As of March 22, 2008, the membership stands at 4,702,000 across 4,296 communities. The original idea has since been copied and varied by hundreds of similar groups around the world.

[edit] Controversies

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[edit] Corporate sponsorship

In February 2005, Deron Beal accepted TFN's first corporate support of $130,000 from Waste Management, Inc.[2] This polarized opinion amongst group moderators.[3] Some saw it as a sensible way of raising funds from a company Beal describes as America's "largest recycler", but others saw it as selling out to corporate interests. Further criticism was provoked by a decision to take paid Google ads on the TFN web site, contrary to the initial stated principles, and by Beal's green ambassador role for WMI.[4] A second grant from Waste Management was received by TFN in February 2006 in the amount of $100,000, bringing total funding to $230,000 from WMI.[citation needed]

[edit] Management structure

Further criticism has focused on the close-knit friends-and-family board structure, which delayed full registration as a non-profit. Although set to a nominal limit of 15, to date it has been limited to founder Deron Beal (chairperson and treasurer), his wife Jennifer Columbus (vice chairperson) and friend Jolie Sibert (secretary), prompting accusations of nepotism. Beal defends this as a necessary interim measure whilst the organization grows rapidly.[citation needed]

[edit] Trademark

Beal has been criticized for vigorously defending TFN's trademark, at the expense of closing down functioning community groups and imposing precise rules on logos and language for groups. Beal insists this is solely to prevent commercial interests taking the name and establishing an inappropriate freecycle.com. Critics claim that it could equally be protected from corporate abuse by establishment as a generic term. A formal trademark opposition[5] was filed in January 2006. FreecycleSunnyvale filed a lawsuit in federal court against The Freecycle Network[6] in January 2006. An injunction was granted against Sunnyvale Free's group moderator Tim Oey in May 2006 for allegedly disparaging the TFN trademark.[7] This injunction was stayed in July 2006 and was eventually dissolved by the Ninth Circuit in September 2007.[3] During 2006, in order to defend their trademark TFN also pursued other free recycling groups who either mentioned the term "freecycle" or allegedly had "confusingly similar derivations thereof",[4] and made similar threats to a UK community arts festival in 2007.[5]

The term "freecycle" is speculated to have first been used by David Hoekstra[6] "Salvager Dali" in Toronto. The concept and term "FreeCycle" were used and trademark asserted by Hemp Online Inc in 2000.

[edit] Deletion of groups

TFN has requested Yahoo to remove from YahooGroups many groups not registered, or subsequently de-registered, on their web directory of Freecycle groups. The Freecycle Network cites "refusing to comply with its practices and direction" as the reason for this. Group moderators receive cease-and-desist emails and a request made to Yahoo! to close the group account. The criteria for action, to quote from a TFN warning e-mail, "trademark-protected Freecycle name and logo, as well as any and all copyrighted texts, graphics, rules, and guidelines, in any part of the group including the title, or its URL". However, moderators report being offered no reason associated with the e-mail announcing imminent removal. Deleted groups are often replaced by so-called "astroturf" groups, set up by a central team of interim moderators (IMods).

[edit] Free speech

Free speech advocates, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and 38 law professors filed an Amicus brief [7] to oppose a trademark infringement lawsuit TFN filed against Tim Oey. The basis for the opposition is that the lawsuit violates First Amendment rights. Separately Lawrence Lessig, Jimmy Wales, and some other law professors filed a second amicus brief [8] also supporting Tim Oey.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ "Freecycle UK" is registered under charity number 1118148 and its registration refers to uk.freecycle.org as its official website address.
  2. ^ Angel, Wendy. "Free and Fabulous", WasteAge, 2005-03-01. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  3. ^ As Freecycle grows, idealism and reality collide. www.grist.org. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
  4. ^ The Freecycle Network. www.wastemanagementcanada.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
  5. ^ FreecycleSunnyvale. "Notice of Opposition" (PDF), Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, USPTO, 2006-01-18. ESTTA62464. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  6. ^ FreecycleSunnyvale v. The Freecycle Network, No. C06-00324CW (N.D. Cal. 2006).
  7. ^ The Freecycle Network, Inc. v. Oey, No. CV 06-173 (CV-06-00173-RCC) , 5 (D. Ariz. May 11, 2006).

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites

[edit] Support sites

[edit] News and media

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