<div dir="ltr"><div>Donna Bacon (Executive Director of MOBIUS) sent options for how we might work with MOBIUS to handle the Evergreen project. The following are the options for how we might contract with them from their attorney. Scenario 1 and 4 are the more traditional ways we have talked about. In Scenario 1, we move forward forming a non-profit for for the Evergreen Project that would then contract with MOBIUS. If we went with their attorney, they word incorporate Evergreen in Missouri. We could begin this process and MOBIUS could still handle the contracts for the 2019 conference until the Evergreen Non-profit is complete. In Scenario 2, the EOB members would sign the agreement similarly to what was done with the SFC. There are two other scenarios which are variations. Donna is willing to support the board with any of these options.<br><br></div>I will have this on the agenda for discussion at the next board meeting.<br><div><div><br>FROM MOBIUS' ATTORNEYS:<br>
<br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>As a follow up to our call on Friday, we
want to outline some of Evergreen Project’s (“Evergreen
Project”) options regarding moving from the Software Freedom
Conservancy (“SFC”) to MOBIUS for its services, with the
target goal of transitioning on June 1, 2018. As you know,
Evergreen is not currently a separate entity and its
trademark is owned by SFC and its funds are held by SFC in a
segregated account under SFC’s name, so any transfer will
require the cooperation and consent of SFC.
</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Please note, we have prepared this
summary for the benefit and in connection with our
representation of MOBIUS. Nothing herein creates an
attorney-client relationship between this firm and the
Evergreen Project.</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>In general, Evergreen’s options are:</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><b><u>Scenario #1- Recommended Approach</u></b></i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(1)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>Form a non-profit
entity for Evergreen and apply for tax exemptions;</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(2)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>SFC assigns the
trademark and transfers any and all assets its holds for
Evergreen Project (including the deposit account) to the new
entity;
</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(3)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>SFC transfers the funds
to an account held in the name of Evergreen entity; and</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(4)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>The new entity and
MOBIUS enter into a contract for MOBIUS to perform certain
management services.</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><b><u>Scenario #2</u></b></i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(1)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>Evergreen, as an
unincorporated association of its members, enters into a
contract with MOBIUS for MOBIUS to perform certain
management services (EOB members will need to sign
the contract);</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(2)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>SFC assigns the
trademark to all of the members of Evergreen, as an
unincorporated association;</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(3)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>SFC transfers the funds
to an account in the name of Evergreen, as an unincorporated
association (all EOB members will need to sign
authorization);</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(4)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>Form a non-profit
entity for Evergreen and apply for tax exemptions;</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(5)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>Assign the MOBIUS
contract to the new entity; and</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(6)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>Assign the trademark to
the new entity (signatures of all members will need to be
obtained).</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><b><u>Scenario #3</u></b></i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(1)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>Evergreen, as an
unincorporated association of its members, enters into a
contract with MOBIUS for MOBIUS to perform certain
management services;</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(2)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>SFC keeps ownership of
the trademark until a new entity is formed (SFC will need to
consent to any enforcement action, Evergreen will be relying
on SFC to make any necessary filings to continue the mark,
and SFC may charge a fee for this);</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(3)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>SFC transfers the funds
to an account in the name of Evergreen, as an unincorporated
association (all EOB members will need to sign
authorization);</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(4)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>Form a non-profit
entity for Evergreen and apply for tax exemptions;</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(5)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>Assign the MOBIUS
contract to the new entity; and</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(6)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>Assign the trademark to
the new entity.</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><b><u>Scenario #4</u></b></i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(1)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>Evergreen, as an
unincorporated association of its members, enters into a
contract with MOBIUS for MOBIUS to perform certain
management services;</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(2)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>SFC transfers the funds
to an account in the name of Evergreen, as an unincorporated
association (all EOB members will need to sign
authorization);</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(3)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>SFC assigns the
trademark to all of the members of Evergreen, as an
unincorporated association; and</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="gmail-m_5115187122353091524MsoListParagraph"><i><span>(4)<span style="font:normal normal normal normal 7pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></i><i>No new entity is
formed.</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>We recommend forming an entity for
Evergreen for a number of reasons, but, in particular, it
will help protect the members from personal liability for
the obligations and liabilities of Evergreen Project
(protection they do not currently have), it will eliminate
assignment issues if any member dies, dissolves, or has
leadership change, it will make obtaining insurance policies
to cover items like slip and fall accidents at the
conference easier (the entity can obtain the policy rather
than a policy naming all of the individual members), and it
will make it easier for filing taxes by allowing an entity
to report taxes rather than passing it through to all the
members of the unincorporated association. Having Evergreen
as its own entity will also make trademark administration
easier as it will not require involving SFC or all of the
members, depending on the above scenarios, to take
enforcement actions to protect the trademark or sign off on
filings to continue the mark.</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<i>
</i>
<i>In general, forming a Missouri
non-profit corporation, for the basic documents, will cost
approximately $1500 if our firm handles the work. This does
not include the cost of any accountants or legal fees to
obtain tax exemptions for the organizations. The actual
entity formation can be completed in a couple of weeks,
though the tax applications take longer. Trademark
assignment filing fees should be approximately $50, plus
$250-500 in attorneys’ fees to complete the assignment.
Note, in the case of assigning to the general partners, due
to the number of parties involved, filing fees and
attorneys’ fees will be higher.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>_________</i></div><div><i><br></i><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><span><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.656;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tim </span><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Spindler | Executive Director | C/W MARS</span></p></span></span></span></font></div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><span><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.656;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a href="mailto:tspindler@cwmars.org" target="_blank">ts</a></span><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a href="mailto:tspindler@cwmars.org" target="_blank">pindler@cwmars.org</a> | 508-755-3323 x120</span></p></span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><span><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.656;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="http://www.cwmars.org/" style="text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><span style="color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">http://www.cwmars.org</span></a></p></span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><span><span></span></span></span></font><font size="1"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><span><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.656;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></p></span></span></span></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
</div></div></div>