"For the Cure" - Trademark Issues Statement

Komen seeks to find balance while minimizing confusion

January 24, 2011

Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s senior leadership team has for some time been discussing Komen’s approach to protecting its “for the Cure” trademarks and just this weekend committed to a 30-60 day timeline to develop workable solutions that balance the interests of those who wish to use “for the Cure” to raise funds, while minimizing confusion among the millions of people who recognize “for the Cure” or similar phrasing as a Susan G. Komen for the Cure program. This is a complicated issue that has pulled focus off of the meaningful work that Susan G. Komen for the Cure does in thousands of communities to find cures for breast cancer and provide social, financial and emotional support for women and men with the disease (investing $283 million into research and outreach programs in the last year alone).

If we have been perceived as overzealous in protecting our trademarks, it is only because we want donors to know that when they see “for the Cure,” they can be confident that they’re donating to a Komen program. Komen’s reputation for stewardship is strong – we were named one of the two most trusted charities in America last year, and have achieved Four-Star Charity Navigator rankings four years running. Fewer than 9 percent of the nation’s charities have achieved that ranking four years consecutively.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has never sued another charity nor have we attempted to impede the good work that they do; rather, we’ve sought amicable resolutions in the 47 trademark cases we’ve encountered in our 30 years.
We are listening to our donors, volunteers and communities we serve across the country, and are working to provide the balance that we and others seek to ultimately fulfill our promise to end breast cancer forever.

More information can be found on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Blog: http://blog.komen.org/?p=277

Contact: news@komen.org