The Freecycle Network

The Freecycle Network

The Freecycle Network logo

The Freecycle Network logo
Abbreviation TFN
Motto Changing the world one gift at a time.
Formation 1 May 2003 (2003-05-01)[1]
Legal status 501(c)3
Purpose Recycling
Region served
121 countries[2]
Membership
6,880,991[3]
Founder & Executive Director
 Deron Beal[4]
Information Coordinator
 Penny[4]
Technical Support
 Richard[4]
Website www.freecycle.org

The Freecycle Network (TFN, or Freecycle) is a non-profit organization registered in the state of Arizona and separately registered as a UK charity.[5] TFN organizes a worldwide network of "gifting" groups aiming to divert reusable goods from landfills. The network 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, and for promoting gift economics as a motivating cultural outlook.[6]

History

The organization originated as a project of RISE, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, to promote waste reduction in Tucson, Arizona. RISE subsequently handed the project over to the newly founded nonprofit 501(c)3 incorporated charity, The Freecycle Network, whose Executive Director was the initial project leader, Deron Beal,[7][8] set up the first Freecycle e-mail group for the citizens of Tucson. The concept has since spread to over 110 countries,[9] with thousands of local groups and millions of members.[10]

TFN began as a collection of Yahoo Groups linked from Freecycle.org. Since then, it has become a unique web-community platform directly on Freecycle.org for all groups, which are each run by local volunteers.[11] TFN encourages the formation of new groups, subject to approval by regional "new group approvers". Groups approved by TFN are all found on the official website, can use the TFN name and logo, and are subject to rules enforced by a structure of global and regional group outreach assistance.[12] TFN originally planned to move to a custom designed, centralized site in 2004, but the project moved slowly due to a shortage of skilled volunteer labor. In 2008, TFN went live with a beta version of a custom site. As of March 2009, all new groups must be started on Freecycle.org's new group system, which provides additional Freecycle-specific tools for local volunteer moderators and gives TFN more control over individual groups. As of 2015, all local groups are found directly in the web community on Freecycle.org

Membership

TFN has grown into a global organization of over 4,000 local chapters, and passed the 2,000,000 member mark in February 2006.[13][14] As of February 2014, the membership stands at 6,880,991 across 5,120 groups worldwide.[15]

Controversies

Corporate support

In February 2005, Beal accepted TFN's first corporate support of $130,000 from Waste Management, Inc.[16]

Trademark issues

A formal trademark opposition[17] was filed in federal court by FreecycleSunnyvale against The Freecycle Network[18] in January 2006. An injunction was granted against Tim Oey in May 2006 for allegedly disparaging the TFN trademark.[19] The injunction was stayed in July 2006 and was eventually dissolved by the Ninth Circuit in September 2007.[20] 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".[21]

Free speech advocates, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and 38 law professors filed an amicus brief[22] to oppose a trademark infringement lawsuit TFN filed against Tim Oey. Basis for the opposition was that the lawsuit violated First Amendment rights. Separately, Jimmy Wales and other law professors, including Lawrence Lessig, filed a second amicus brief[23] also supporting Tim Oey. On November 24, 2010, TFN lost its trademark claim to "Freecycle" and to its logo in United States federal court.[24] In her opinion, Judge Callahan stated that "Beal did not coin the word 'freecycle' and TFN is not the first organization to promote freecycling" and that "even ... viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to TFN... [they] engaged in naked licensing and consequently abandoned the trademarks."[25]

On September 25, 2012, TFN regained a registered trademark in the United States for Freecycle.org, registration number 4215094 federal agency.[26] TFN has a registered collective membership trademark as of the same date, registration number 4215095 federal agency.[27] TFN maintains additional registered trademarks in the European Union, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

Payments to founder

While TFN is mainly run by volunteers, Beal is paid, receiving a salary of $70,000, along with "other compensation" of $12,811 in 2014.[28]

To determine the amount of Beal's pay, the TFN board "sees what is a reasonable pay level comparable to similar other local nonprofits and then we see how close we can get to achieving that amount, then the board votes on it; Deron Beal abstains." However, the board consists of three people, one of whom is Beal's wife, Jennifer Columbus.[28]

UK breakaway

Over the course of 2009, there was repeated conflict between the UK's Independent Association of TFM moderators and the US-based founders of the charitable nonprofit organization[29] regarding the lack of freedom for UK-based TFN groups to develop new localized initiatives and features and their treatment of volunteer group owners and moderators.[30] This resulted in the dismissal of at least 20 local group owners and moderators who were replaced with new local TFN volunteers in the UK.[31] In response, many owners of UK-based TFN groups formed a new independent association called Freegle.[32][33][34] TFN continued to exist in the UK, and in many areas there were both Freecycle and Freegle groups present.[35]

As of February 2015, TFN UK claimed 592 groups with 4,345,095 members.[36]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Background - FreecycleFAQ". Wiki.freecycle.org. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  2. ↑ http://www.freecycle.org/group/?noautodetect=1
  3. ↑ "The Freecycle Network". Freecycle.org. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  4. 1 2 3 "Leadership - FreecycleFAQ". Wiki.freecycle.org. 2016-02-04. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  5. ↑ "Freecycle UK" is registered under charity number 1118148 and its registration refers to uk.freecycle.org as its official website address.
  6. ↑ Shah, Dhavan V; Nelson, Michelle R; Friedland, L.; Nelson, M. R. (2007). The politics of consumption/the consumption of politics. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. American Academy of Political and Social Science 611 (Sage, cop). p. 6. doi:10.1177/0002716207299647. ISBN 1-4129-5934-9. Nelson, Rademacher, and Paek explore the underpinnings of sharing and civic identity through a case study of consumers in a second-order, online consumption community: Freecycle.org. Results show that these individuals hold downshifting attitudes (favor less work and less consumption). Yet the downshifting does not necessarily mean increased civic engagement in a traditional sense. Rather, political and civic engagement for this group included political consumption and digital forms of political participation.
  7. ↑ "The Freecycle Network - Initial Incorporation Record". Arizona Corporation Commission. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  8. ↑ "The Freecycle Network - Initial Trade Name Registration Record". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  9. ↑ "The Freecycle Network - Notation of Total Countries of Activity". The Freecycle Network. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  10. ↑ "The Freecycle Network - History & Background Information". The Freecycle Network. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  11. ↑ "United States". The Freecycle Network. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  12. ↑ "Guidelines and Disclaime". The Freecycle Network. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  13. ↑ The Freecycle Network Tops Two Million Member Mark Today!, Press release
  14. ↑ Jeffery, Yvonne; Barclay, Liz; Grosvenor, Michael (2008). Green Living For Dummies. For Dummies. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-470-22742-8.
  15. ↑ "The Freecycle Network". Freecycle.org. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  16. ↑ Angel, Wendy (1 March 2005). "Free and Fabulous". WasteAge. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  17. ↑ FreecycleSunnyvale (18 January 2006). "Notice of Opposition" (PDF). Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, USPTO: Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, USPTO. ESTTA62464. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  18. ↑ FreecycleSunnyvale v. The Freecycle Network, No. C06-00324CW (N.D. Cal. 2006).
  19. ↑ The Freecycle Network, Inc. v. Oey, No. CV 06-173 (CV-06-00173-RCC), 5 (D. Ariz. May 11, 2006).
  20. ↑ http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0616219p.pdf
  21. ↑ Close. "Good-Doer Attacks a Yahoo Group :: Notices :: Lumen". Chillingeffects.org. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  22. ↑ http://volokh.com/files/freecyclelemleybrief.pdf
  23. ↑ http://volokh.com/files/freecyclepostbrief.pdf
  24. ↑
  25. ↑ "FreecycleSunnyvale v. Freecycle Network, 626 F.3d 509 –". Courtlistener.com. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  26. ↑ http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4803:o4aixl.2.4
  27. ↑ http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4803:o4aixl.2.3
  28. 1 2 https://www.freecycle.org/files/form990/2015/form990-2015.pdf
  29. ↑ "Arizona Corporation Commission eCorp". Ecorp.azcc.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  30. ↑ UK Freecycle moderators break away from US network The Guardian, September 10, 2009
  31. ↑ "Moderator Manual:Mod dos - FreecycleFAQ". Wiki.freecycle.org. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  32. ↑ http://www.ilovefreegle.org/about/history.php Freegle History
  33. ↑ Ian Johnston (19 Sep 2009). "Freecycle in bitter split between the majority of UK moderators who remained with Freecycle and those who left to Freegle; Freecycle, the giveaway movement that helps internet users swap things they no longer want, has split with hundreds of thousands of UK members who have joined a rival group.". The Telegraph.
  34. ↑ Jones, Sam (12 October 2009). "Accusations of very tight control split UK recycling network from US parent: 'Overbearing input' from the States stops British groups making their own decisions, say volunteers". The Observer.
  35. ↑ From Freegle and Freecycle websites, posted figures without independent checking or distinction between active and inactive members; for example 23 April 2012, Freegle Camden South (in London NW1), 4951 members; Freegle Kentish Town (in London NW1), 6734 members; Freecycle Camden South, 8663 members; Freecycle Kentish Town, 12805 members. There is no information on people belonging to both organisations, or long-standing but inactive members of the older organisation.
  36. ↑ "Freecycle.org UK". Uk.freecycle.org. Retrieved 2016-05-04.

External links

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