Legal basis

Legal basis

Through a contractual agreement, PRO EUROPE and DSD have assigned to StewardEdge the responsibility for protecting the trademark in North America. This means that StewardEdge, through its Green Dot North America division, will:

• Identify products sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico that carry the Green Dot symbol. 
• Maintain a registry of those companies that market or distribute these products in North America.
• Establish an appropriate licensee fee for use of the mark at a fee which will allow StewardEdge to:
• identify current users of the mark
• maintain a registry of all users of the mark in North America
• license use of the mark to companies which use the mark on packaging of products sold in North America
• protect and defend the use of the trademark in North America
• ensure that the mark is used appropriately on packaging
• promote the recycling of packaging recycling programs
• monitor the effectiveness of packaging recycling programs
• Report on these matters to PRO EUROPE/DSD
• Participate in the management of PRO EUROPE*

Green Dot North America maintains a list of North America trade-mark registration numbers.

Affected Companies

If a manufacturer or importer uses, or intends to use the Green Dot on packaging destined for the North American market, the company will need to obtain a license. The onus is on the user of the Green Dot to take steps to register and acquire the required license.

The "user agreement" license fee for calendar year 2011 is $1,250 (U.S.). This fee covers the license for products sold in North America in the calendar year 2011 and is based on a cost recovery for administering the licensing and use of the Green Dot in North America.