As a result of Code for America’s presence in the last 12 years and its success, Code for America (CfA) has developed strong rights and reputation in its CODE FOR AMERICA marks. CfA maintains trademark registrations for various CODE FOR AMERICA marks (U.S. Trademark Registration Nos. 4324429, 4324426, and 4316838).
Additionally, CfA licenses its name to selected partner organizations (as our Partner Brigades) such as Code for Houston (Impact Hub Houston), Code for KC (KC Digital Drive), and Code for Philly.
We are working towards clarifying the use of the “Code for” name, which includes what would happen if a Brigade decides to become unaffiliated with Code for America. We want to hear your thoughts on this so please share your response to the prompt below!
Prompt for Discussion
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Scenario: You are a part of the Code for Pasadena Brigade leadership team. After 2 years of running the Brigade as a fiscally sponsored project of Code for America, your team decides that the next step for the group is to become a separate organization that is unaffiliated with Code for America.
Question: In this scenario, would you want your group to keep the name Code for Pasadena? Why or why not?