[IAEP] 2016/2017 Financials; Protecting XO Trademark in Perpetuity; Reseeding

[Adam Holt]

[1] We have $75,367.72 in the bank but FYI Sugar Labs' spending in 2017 has
been higher than any other year on record in Sugar Labs' 9-year history
(estimated $14105.73 so far, with almost one quarter of the year
remaining).  This despite dramatically fewer trips than the year before,
according to our summarized financial ledger just posted.  Depending how
you estimate it, Sugar Labs has posted a $5653.67 or $7805.73 loss[*] for
the year to date:

   2017
   https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Finance#2017-01-01_to_2017-10-06

Last year income was somewhat ahead of expenses by either $117.62 or
$1462.25[*] in the final analysis:

   2016
   https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Finance#2016-01-01_to_2016-12-31

[*] Depending on calendar year etc: some transactions happen many months
after they first post.  Also critical amendments/clarifications might be
necessary above, as new information comes to light.  Clarif on April 2011:
that $145,000.00 pass-through expense for Durham Cycling (sponsorship) was
a clerical anomaly more than an actual expense:
https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Finance#April_2011


[2] Currently the legal owner of the XO Trademark is (presumably) OLPC
INC.  If Sugar Labs seeks to protect itself and its learning constituents
from possibly less scrupulous future owners of the XO mark in the coming
decades (who might conceivably resist or charge for community licensing of
the XO artwork/symbol, if the trademark should ever change hands, a change
of ownership having happened twice[*] on our watch already during Sugar
Labs' 9 year history) board members interested in safeguarding future
decades' opportunities can review the following documents for completeness
and clarification:

$ ls Sugar/Agreements/Relicensing_sugar-artwork_files
Benjamin-Berg-consent.eml           Manuel-Quinones-consent.eml
Christian-Marc-Schmidt-consent.eml  Marco-Presenti-Gritti-consent.eml
C-Scott-Ananian-consent.eml         Martin-Abente-consent.eml
Dan-Williams-consent.eml            Record-of-Contributor-approvals.ods
Eben-Eliason-consent.eml            Simon-Schampijer-consent.eml
Gary-Martin-consent.eml             Tomeu-Vizoso-consent.eml
Gonzalo-Odiard-consent.eml          Walter-Bender-consent.eml

The above documents are available to all board members who request access
via svn (subversion) from the SFConservancy.  There is absolutely no rush
here as the board clarified its broad opinion (
https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Oversight_Board/Decisions#2017-09-15).
However during the next meeting on November 3rd after the board election,
it might be prudent & precautionary to wrap up this matter by briefly
outlining a more forward-looking-statement (September's public discussions
were a very useful start) as to how we might work with and assist OLPC (or
any subsequent holder of the XO and similar trademarks) in protecting
Sugar's heritage across different global communities in 25 years from now
as much as 10 years from now...*and possibly much longer.*

Legal advice from different lawyers can be very helpful (I happen to know a
lot, and yes they like to be paid for their work just like underappreciated
accountants: as such an experienced lawyer recently admitted to me "let's
be very honest, we lawyers have different opinions, and the Internet is
often the best lawyer, even when your funds are not constrained...")  In
any case, Sugar Labs has not budgeted for detailed, paid legal research at
this time, for a subtle/complex case like this especially.   The XO
trademark and common law / community uses of it have an intricate history
of more than 10 years already, likely going substantially beyond
SFConservancy's responsibility to do basic legal/accounting work for Sugar
Labs.
*As such we should be thankful that SFC General Counsel Tony Sebro &
Bradley Kuhn have already helped us repeatedly on this matter: let me
reiterate a Profound Thanks go to the entire SFC for its diligence beyond
what most anybody is aware, on all matters!*

[*] or so one presumes, that the XO trademark has changed hands from the
OLPC Fdtn to the OLPC Assoc and then from the OLPC Assoc to OLPC Inc, as
OLPC itself has evolved into a different entity several times.  Similarly
Sugar Labs might want to do basic legal and market research on protecting
the Sugarizer name and concept, to protect Lionel and all, as the world
continually changes around us!


*[3]  W h y   W e ' r e   H e r e*

*Sugar Labs' 1st official transactions both took place on December 17th
2008 in an earlier era when Trump was just a playing card, Obama was not a
president, and Tweeting truly was for the birds...*

*Donations on that 1st day came from Bernie Innocenti ($10) and Caroline
Meeks ($50) towards building a completely new kind of more purposeful Lego,
opening minds for a completely new century if not civilization.  Shall we
honor that dream?  Honor their funds??  Or keep repeating ourselves???*

Here are some of the people who donated during those very 1st days in that
more innocent era at the end of 2008 there, when several of our current
board members were just 9-years-old: Paulo Drummond, Nicolas Spalinger,
Sarah Elkins, Mark Lee, Samuel Klein, Jr, Michael Massey, Frederick Grose,
David T Farning, Mr G C Martin, Bernardo Innocenti (another donation),
Walter Bender, Nathan Ridderman, Bartolome Vizoso Estrades (and almost
every one of those were 3-digit donations of $100 or higher!)

Now it's become to time re-evaluate and re-center this arc of our
collaborative mission - still atune to our above founders' spirit - but
also wakening to quickly changing realities yet again, as we soon enter
another decade once again now.  Humbly taking stock of our mistakes,
too-perfect ideas that were too-large, culling dead-end governance &
implementation approaches that somehow didn't take root 9 years later.  Yes
honoring a sacred trajectory, but facing essential -> existential tuning
up, even when it can definitely hurt!

Thank you e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e for instrospecting, re-assessing and committing
to working outside of the limelight to do exactly that: neither ritualizing
crop rotation nor "action as distraction" because, well, we've always done
it that way.

Reseeding The Garden.

Finding Its Common Threads Across IQ-Rich AND Bandwidth-Poor.

Each in our own way now / each patiently / each conscientiously / each
deliberating without ego.

Until our most vivid learning-as-exploration -> kids-constructing-for-all
-> Blossoms Arise.  ReGreening and ReConstructing into a Spring Earth we
don't yet fully know or even recognize ~ but whose soil is silently alive
(and definitely constructing our joint future) right below our very
feet.......
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