Proposal 5 – Publishing License

Submitted by IG645, Russian Speaking Regional Service Committee

Issue:We propose returning to the countries the right to serve their needs in published program literature and to manage this process – according to the publishing license from WSO.

Background:According to Tradition Four, countries can take care of their needs using their inner resources. Local service bodies are well informed about local rules and legislation, which can vary from region to region. They also know their inner market and can get better terms from the printer. This can help reduce the price of the books for our local fellow travelers, which will contribute to carrying the message to an adult child who still suffers. E.g., the Russian fellowship has printed more than four editions of the BRB and the YWB along the whole history of printed ACA literature in Russia. We know that other 12 Steps fellowships provide the countries with the right to print their fellowship literature themselves, and the printing experience leads to the explosive growth of the fellowship in the country / region.

World Service bodies of these fellowships support and control this process with a publishing license. When the fellow travelers of a country devote their personal efforts in printing the literature they are more inclined to respect the copyright. We believe that our proposal can benefit the global fellowship. In our proposal we rely on the Concepts V, VI and XII and have the purpose of more balanced fellowship. We as adult children have temptation to be co-dependant and to rely on WSO in issues which we are capable of solving ourselves. On the contrary, we would like to grow and become more independent to create more points of support for our global fellowship.

Implementation/Resources:Nothing provided

WSO Analysis:

Response:

Previously Intergroups outside the US had printing licenses that allowed them to print and purchase books locally, and then split the profits with WSO (royalties). This system of local printing resulted in higher costs for the Intergroups, limited availability of translated literature globally, and caused major accounting issues.

To increase accessibility and affordability of ACA literature, a new system was implemented with a worldwide supply chain using global printing hubs. These hubs print and ship the books to where they are most needed in a cost effective manner. As a result, all countries currently have the ability to access published program literature. This new system was presented at the 2022 ABC, the AWC, the European committee, and Intergroups outside the US that were working with WSO on print requests.