The Premier Family Resource for Metachromatic Leukodystrophy Information & Support since 1999!
Legal & Trademarks
The content of the MLD.Foundation website is copywritten by MLD Foundation with all usage rights reserved.
MLD Foundation has been very intentional and consistent since its formation in 2001 to build and protect its brand. Many of the logos, custom icons, and many phrases used on this website and in other presentation forms by MLD Foundation are owned and trademarked by MLD Foundation with all usage rights reserved.
COPYRIGHTS – COPYING & REUSING CONTENT
MLD Foundation’s website, its databases, and the contents thereof are copyrighted by MLD Foundation, all rights reserved. No part of the web site, databases, or the contents may be copied in any way, including but not limited to the following: electronically downloading, storing in a retrieval system, or redistributing for any commercial, educational, or nonprofit purposes without the express written permission of MLD Foundation.
Permission is hereby granted to print paper copies of the information you find here for your personal use such as to share with your loved one’s care team or education support members, provided that such content is in no way modified, and the credit for the source (MLD Foundation) and MLD Foundation’s copyright notice are included on the printed copy (the automatically appear on the footer of every web site page).
Any other electronic reproduction or other printed versions is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.
You can learn more about some online copyright myths here.
LINKING & EMBEDDING
Linking to an MLD.Foundation web page is perfectly fine. Some pages have a bookmark (anchor) for key elements – you may also link to those anchors to aid the reader.
An iframe or equivalent display of a MLD Foundation web page may be made on your web page as long as a page is shown in its entirety and no attempt is made to remove MLD Foundation graphics, navigation, or ownership identity.
No direct linking to pictures and other individual elements is permitted without advance written permission.
Use of small portions, a sentence or two, of the content of this site may be made without advance notice as long as attribution is made to MLD Foundation. If the use is on another web site an acknowledgment and an active link back to the appropriate page at https://MLD.Foundation is required.
To maintain reference/link and bookmark integrity we try not to change the names of files used for each of our web pages, however, we cannot guarantee that historic links will never change.
LOGO & TRADEMARKS – The MLD Foundation Brand
MLD Foundation has been very intentional and consistent since its formation in 2001 to build and protect its brand. Many of the logos, custom icons, and many phrases used on this website and in other presentation forms by MLD Foundation are owned and trademarked by MLD Foundation with all usage rights reserved.
The following are US Federally registered trademarks of MLD Foundation and should be tagged upon first usage with (®) :
- We C.A.R.E.
- The stylized MLD butterfly (see below)
- Faces of MLD
- MLD Family Conference
The following are also trademarks of MLD Foundation and should be tagged upon first usage with (™) :
- MLD Foundation
- MLD Family
- MLD Family Gathering
- MLD Family Compassion Fund
- MLD Family Registry
- MLD Conversations
- MLD Family Discussion List
- MLD Family Liaison
- MLD Newborn Screening Academy
- MLD Family Profile
- MLD Patient-Powered Registry
- MLD Minute
- MLD Family Minute
- RUSP Roundtable
- MLD Family Butterfly Ceremony
- MLD Butterfly Ceremony
- The “We C.A.R.E.” tag-line “facilitating Compassion, increasing Awareness, influencing Research and promoting Education”
- The stylized MLD Foundation text with the intertwined Faces of MLD butterfly
- The standalone MLD newborn screening logo consisting of an embedded DNA strand, and a heart-shaped blood spot.
- The stylized MLD Newborn Screening URL text with the newborn screening logo.
click images to enlarge
The following are Service Marks of MLD Foundation:
- Where the MLD Family Gathers
- Together We C.A.R.E.
- “facilitating Compassion, increasing Awareness, influencing Research and promoting Education”
These logos and trademarks are not to be used for any purpose, private or public, including fundraising for MLD without prior written permission.
We are occasionally asked if the logo can be reproduced in some form for fundraising, tatoos, personal projects, or other purposes. Permission must be requested in writing, in advance, and may or may not be granted after careful consideration of how the logo is proposed to be used.
If the proposal includes selling an item with some embodiment of the logo as a fundraiser, the details of the fund-raiser should also be provided, including any representations as to the tax-deductibility of contributions and how MLD Foundation will be connected to the logo use.
If permission is granted, the appropriate Trademark mark ™, Registered Trademark mark ® or Service Mark ℠ symbol, must be used alongside the logo or graphic.
Details about how these marks are protected can be found here (see the first two paragraphs under “Trademark Registration”.)
NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY
MLD Foundation does not advocate, support, or practice unlawful discrimination based on age, ethnicity, gender, national origin, disability, race, size, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.
We reserve the right to limit access to resources to any person(s) not respecting the values, decisions, ethics, or privacy of others.
WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY
Guidestar and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act require this policy …
If any employee, volunteer, or affiliate [person] of MLD Foundation reasonably believes that some policy, practice, or activity of MLD Foundation is in violation of law, a written complaint must be filed by that person with the Executive Director or the Board President.
It is the intent of MLD Foundation to adhere to all laws and regulations that apply to the organization and the underlying purpose of this policy is to support the organization’s goal of legal compliance.
The support of all persons is necessary to achieving compliance with various laws and regulations. A person is protected from retaliation only if the person brings the alleged unlawful activity, policy, or practice to the attention of MLD Foundation and provides MLD Foundation with a reasonable opportunity to investigate and correct the alleged unlawful activity. The protection described below is only available to persons that comply with this requirement.
MLD Foundation will not retaliate against a person who in good faith, has made a protest or raised a complaint against some practice of MLD Foundation, or of another individual or entity with whom MLD Foundation has a business relationship, on the basis of a reasonable belief that the practice is in violation of law, or a clear mandate of public policy. MLD Foundation will not retaliate against persons who disclose or threaten to disclose to a supervisor or a public body, any activity, policy, or practice of MLD Foundation that the employee reasonably believes is in violation of a law, or a rule, or regulation mandated pursuant to law or is in violation of a clear mandate of public policy concerning the health, safety, welfare, or protection of the environment.
DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION POLICY
Guidestar and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act require this policy …
MLD Foundation acknowledges its responsibility to preserve information relating to litigation, audits, and investigations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of July 30, 2002, makes it a crime to alter, cover-up, falsify, or destroy any document to prevent its use in an official proceeding. Failure on the part of employees, volunteers, or affiliates to follow this policy can result in possible civil and criminal sanctions against MLD Foundation and its employees and possible disciplinary action against responsible individuals (up to and including termination of employment). Each employee has an obligation to contact the Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee, Executive Director or the Board President of a potential or actual litigation, external audit, investigation or similar proceeding involving MLD Foundation that may have an impact as well on the approved records retention schedule.
Most documents will be archived electronically with reasonable efforts to back up these archives. Giving records, federal and state tax & corporate documents will be retained at least as long as statutes require.
We normally use a 3rd party merchant processing service when processing payments and donations in order to avoid any contact with credit card numbers and to maintain PCI Compliance. We occasionally process manual or phone transactions in which case records or the transaction are retained but the credit card number is disposed of (deleted or shredded) as soon as the transaction is processed and is not archived. The occasional credit card number sent by email may be inadvertently backed up as part of our email archives.
ONLINE DONATIONS & PAYMENTS, Including ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
Donations and payments made by Stripe, PayPal, Google, and Square are processed by 3rd parties. When using these 3rd parties, MLD Foundation never sees, captures or stores your personal credit card or banking information. Compliance with Stripe’s Acceptable Use Policy and PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy when using their services for payment and donation processing are acknowledged herein by reference.
Donations generally are tax-deductible, your receipt and/or the context in which the donation was made will determine the deductibility. Purchases are usually partially deductible for the donation made in excess of the value of the item purchased and will be indicated as such on your receipt. Always check with your accountant or tax advisor for accurate advice.Re-occurring/scheduled donations will generally not be scheduled for a period longer than 1 year, after which they must be renewed.
Donations and purchases are by rule not refundable, however, in the case of administrative error please contact us to request an adjustment or refund.
REVISION HISTORY
September 30, 2024 … Minor formatting adjustments.
July 8, 2024 … Added Together We C.A.R.E., and facilitating Compassion, increasing Awareness, influencing Research and promoting Education to the list of service marks.
July 5, 2024 … Added MLD Butterfly Ceremony, MLD Family Butterfly Ceremony, and MLD Family Liaison to the list of trademarks.
January 12, 2024 … Re-added MLD Family Profile to the list of trademarks (inadvertently deleted from our trademark list sometime after 2015).
August 29, 2023 … Updated MLD Family Conference to indicate its new federally registered trademark status.
April 29, 2023 … Added MLD Newborn Screening Academy to the list of trademarks (trademarked since 2019).
March 10, 2023 … Added Where the MLD Family Gathers as a new Service Mark.
November 15, 2022 … Updated Faces of MLD to indicate its new federal registration status. Added Stripe Acceptable Use Policy link and made minor edits to the Online Donations & Payments section.
August 12, 2022 … Modified/clarified the MLD Newborn Screening logo and text with logo trademark descriptive text, and added MLD Family Minute to the list of trademarks.
June 21, 2022 … Added a federally registered trademark section and moved We C.A.R.E. and the stylized MLD butterfly logo to this new section to reflect their new federal registration status.
August 30, 2021 … Minor formatting and text adjustments as this page was transferred to the new hosting platform. Added MLD Family Registry and RUSP Roundtable (used since 2015) to the listed trademarks. Added “®” as an additional proper recognition of a registered MLD Foundation mark.
April 25, 2021 … added MLD Minute to trademarks (used since 2020).
October 2016 … slight modifications and clarification to Trademark Usage wording.
November 2015 … added MLD Conversations to trademarks (accidental historical omission). Added text about retaining the ” ™ ” mark when using (with advance permission) the logo or butterfly graphic.
August 2015 … added MLD Family Profile (accidental historical omission), and MLD Patient Powered Registry, and MLD Patient Registry to trademarks.
January 2014 … added some copyright clarifications, added MLD Family Compassion Fund as a trademark.
April 14, 2013 … corrected several spelling errors.
March 20, 2013 … Added Online Donations & Payments, and Acceptable Use Policy when using PayPal as a donation or payment processor.
May 28, 2010 … added images and a slight modification to the text describing the butterfly logo and MLD stylized text logo with butterfly, minor wording adjustment to pluralize the descriptive use sentence.
Prior revisions … August 26th, 2009; May 26, 2009; July 2, 2008