FSC has introduced a new Trademark License Agreement (TLA) as of 20 January 2022. Accordingly, FSC single certificate holders applying for new or renewed certification must sign the new TLA.
The Trademark License Agreement is a legal document which determines the relationship between FSC and the certificate holder. It grants the organisations holding FSC certificate the right to use the FSC trademarks, for both on-product labelling and promotional use. The specific rules governing the use of the FSC trademarks by certificate holders are referred to in “Requirements for use of the FSC trademarks by certificate holders”.
Certification bodies, like Preferred by Nature, can now grant FSC certification or recertification only when their client has entered into the new TLA. The new rules only apply to FSC single certificate holders, and not group and multi-site certifications.
FSC revises the TLA on a regular basis to make it compliant with the latest legal requirements and to ensure that the integrity and credibility of the FSC certification scheme are upheld and protected.
The new FSC TLA determines new rules that improve FSC’s ability to penalise and/or block organisations making false claims. It is also updated to ensure compliance with the GDPR, the European legislation governing data protection.
Signing the new agreement
Certificate holders can sign the new TLA electronically within the FSC Certification Portal.
For the anticipated certification renewals, Preferred by Nature will be contacting the FSC single certificate holders to assist them in the process of complying with FSC’s new requirements and to provide guidelines on the new FSC TLA finalisation procedure. Certificate holders will receive an invitation to activate their FSC Connect account and sign in to the FSC Certification Portal, in order to sign the new TLA.
Our team is available to answer any questions about this new FSC’s requirement and provide you with support at all stages of the entire process.
You can also check FSC’s Frequently Asked Questions section for more information.
