For the commission Robert Thomas
International Forum for Steiner/Waldorf Education (Haague Circle)

Januar 2019

The "Bund der Freien Waldorfschule"n is historically and legally responsible for the brands "Waldorf" and "Rudolf Steiner Schule" and holds the trademark rights in numerous countries for their use in the field of educational services. The Association of Waldorf Kindergartens is the exclusive licensee for kindergartens and day-care centres and is therefore responsible for licensing.

A commission consisting of representatives of the Federation of Independent Waldorf Schools and the International Forum has followed the question of future handling for several years.

The "Trademark Law" Commission considers it imperative that the granting of licences is free of charge and is also passed on free of charge by the national associations. The licence may not be acquired for commercial purposes.

The responsibility and right of licensing can and should be transferred to institutions which have assumed responsibility for the common interests of schools and kindergartens in the country concerned and which are therefore to be regarded as national associations.

An application procedure has been developed to promote transparency and traceability. A precise and detailed procedure is available for this purpose and can be requested at info@waldorf-international.org.

The acquisition of a licence requires a number of administrative documents: statutes, proof of non-profit status, list of members of the Association's Board, list of institutions that are members of the Association.
The application for sublicensing with the above documents should be submitted to the Association of Independent Waldorf Schools (lizenz@waldorfschule.de) and the International Conference (info@waldorf-international.org) or the Association of Waldorf Kindergartens (info@waldorfkindergarten.de) and to IASWECE (info@iaswece.org).

Two experts are to review the requirements of the national association. These requirements are: License agreements with the schools, admission requirements for new schools, regular duty to inform the owner. If an application for an association is rejected, a review can be requested from the Joint Arbitration Board (mediation@waldorf-international.org).

With this step, a milestone has been reached in the development of the World School Movement: a shared international responsibility in the service of Rudolf Steiner's art of education. From January 2019, the process of granting sublicensing to national associations of Rudolf Steiner and Waldorf Schools will be available. We look forward to hearing from you.

• 18.01.2019 Prerequisites and procedure for granting licensing rights to associations - Final (English)
• 18.01.2019 Prerequisites and procedure for granting licensing rights to associations - Final (Spanish)
• Prerequisites and procedure for granting licensing rights to associations (German)
• Application for a license acquisition for country associations for the use of the name Waldorf and/or Rudolf Steiner