General Workflow
- We setup a webpage on the Fedora wiki, in the Legal namespace (so it can't be edited at random) that describes the process of becoming an approved Vendor. Webpage lists existing approved items from approved vendors. Vendors do not receive blanket approval to use the Fedora trademark, each item & design pair are approved individually. Vendors must contribute a portion (at least 5%) of their sales to TO-BE-DETERMINED (See #Finance Issues). Webpage tells vendors to send an email to legal@fedoraproject.org to request permission (or we could make a fancy web form). This ends up in a trac ticket.
- New Vendor requests permission to use the trademark. They provide:
- The name of their company
- The country in which the company is established
- A name, phone number, and email address for a contact with their company
- A URL for the company's website
- The countries where they will be selling and delivering merchandise
- A text description of each item which they wish to sell that uses the Fedora logo.
- A picture of each item which they wish to sell that uses the Fedora logo. (Picture can be a mockup as long as it reflects the final product, should they be granted approval.)
- A description of how the items will be produced (e.g. screen printing, transfer, photocopier, ink jet, well trained lemurs on an assembly line...)
- The pre-tax cost of each item which they wish to sell
OR
- Existing Vendor requests permission to use the trademark on a new item/design. They provide:
- A text description of each new item which they wish to sell that uses the Fedora trademarks.
- A picture of each item which they wish to sell that uses the Fedora trademarks. (Picture can be a mockup as long as it reflects the final product, should they be granted approval.)
- A description of how these items will be produced (e.g. screen printing, transfer, photocopier, ink jet, well trained lemurs on an assembly line...)
- The pre-tax cost of each new item which they wish to sell
- At this point, I'd show completed requests to Pam (or whomever in Red Hat Legal wishes to sanity check these requests).
- Then, once we have that, we will grant them permission to generate a proof batch of the merchandise items that they have proposed (no more than 5 count per item), which they would then send to Red Hat (me) for quality review. This ensures that we don't have vendors selling cheap cheap crap with our logo on it, and also, that they are capable of doing production as opposed to just lying through their teeth.
- Once I'm happy with the proofs, I will present a full report on the vendor's merch to the Fedora Board for final approval.
- With Board Approval, I will send them a final legal merch agreement, specifying that for a period of time (2 years) they have permission to produce the specified items using the Fedora Logo. It also says that we can cancel the license at any time, covers the financial stuff, etc, etc. This should be mostly standard, where I fill in the blanks.
- Red Hat Legal gets a copy, I keep a copy. Both Red Hat (either me or Red Hat Legal, I'm happy to do it) and the vendor sign it and either Fax or email a scanned copy.
- Then I close out the trac ticket and add the item to the merch page in the wiki.
Finance Issues
We know from past experience that it is a logistical nightmare for us to take money from anyone who wants to donate to Fedora, or toss back a portion of the sales of branded merch. Previous attempts just left everyone (Finance, Fedora) sore and unhappy. Nevertheless, if it were possible to have a portion of sales received from branded merchandise go into a fund that could be tapped to send volunteers to FUDCon events, that would be nice. Alternately, if it is simply impossible (or functionally impractical) for Red Hat to collect money for Fedora, then we should require that approved vendors donate that money to a worthy non-profit. The Fedora Board decides what that non-profit should be.
Ambassador Giveaways
For Ambassadors who wish to generate Fedora Branded Non-Software Merchandise to be given away at no cost, a similar process should be followed:
- Ambassador should open a ticket in trac, including the following details:
- Contact info for responsible ambassador
- Main event(s) where materials will be given away
- Design of event
- Information on vendor producing materials
- Description of materials being used (e.g. type of tshirt, type of coffee cup, etc)
- Amount of materials produced
If the design is simply a "straight" Fedora logo, with nothing else, the merchandise is appropriate, and the material type/quality is acceptable, the request will be granted, and the Fedora Ambassador will be given a one-time permission to produce the specified Fedora Branded Non-Software Merchandise in the amount requested. Any more complicated design or situation will be sent to the Fedora Board for final approval, and may require that the Ambassador produce a 2 item proof batch of the proposed Fedora Branded Non-Software Merchandise.
Ambassadors can also acquire approved Fedora Branded Non-Software Merchandise from approved Vendors (see #General Workflow) and distribute it at events without the need to open a trac ticket.