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SEUK raises concern about EU 'social enterprise' trademark 1

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 13 Aug 2012

Social Enterprise UK has written to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) expressing concern that IT firm Salesforce has applied to trademark the term 'social enterprise' in the EU.

It follows similar attempts by Salesforce to trademark the name in the US and Jamaica - a move which has been condemned by the UK social enterprise sector.

While the term 'social enterprise' broadly means a business with a social purpose for the civil society sector, Salesforce uses it to describe social media and technologies business strategies.

In response to Salesforce's actions, Social Enterprise UK has written to the IPO and a number of UK and European MPs, and launched a Twitter campaign 'Not In Our Name', using the hashtag #notinourname.

Social Enterprise UK's chief executive Peter Holbrook said: "This further attempt by Salesforce to trademark 'social enterprise' in the EU is of serious concern to those working in the sector.  If Salesforce is successful in its application, it could restrict social enterprises, good businesses that have been using the term for well over a decade. There is a great deal at stake here.

"It's difficult to understand why Salesforce is willing to jeopardise a worldwide movement that has honourable motives. There are any number of other terms that the company could use to describe its products and services.
 
"The successive attempts by Salesforce to trademark the term has galvanised the sector. We have been inundated with offers of support and advice from our members and corporate partners."

Intellectual property experts have told civilsociety.co.uk that Salesforce's application to trademark 'social enterprise' in Europe is unlikely, but possible.

If Salesforce's trademark applications are successful, they may have the power to legally block organisations trading under the term 'social enterprise' in territories where the trademark is in place.

Ironically, Salesforce counts Social Enterprise UK as a customer. A Social Enterprise UK spokesman said: "Like much of the social sector, we use their CRM system to store our data. We will continue to do so while we feel there is still the opportunity to open up a positive dialogue with Salesforce." 

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Who's Who: Peter Holbrook