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Salesforce.com Withdraws Applications to Trademark the Term “Social Enterprise”

SAN FRANCISCO, September 2, 2012 – Salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM], the enterprise cloud computing company, announced today it plans to withdraw its applic

SAN FRANCISCO, September 2, 2012 – Salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM], the enterprise cloud computing company, announced today it plans to withdraw its applications to trademark the term “social enterprise.”

For nearly two years, salesforce.com has been evangelizing the term “social enterprise” to describe how social and mobile cloud technologies are empowering companies to connect with customers, partners and employees in entirely new ways. When salesforce.com applied to trademark the term in the IT sector earlier this year, members of the social sector expressed concern that it would cause confusion around the meaning of the term. The social sector, including both non-profits and for profits, define the term “social enterprise” as organizations that apply commercial strategies to improve human and environmental well-being such as reducing poverty or improving education.

Salesforce.com has engaged in a dialogue with a number of these concerned parties, listened to their feedback, and is now withdrawing its applications to trademark the term “social enterprise.” In addition, salesforce.com will look to remove any references to “social enterprise” in its marketing materials in the future.

Comments on the News

“It was never our intention to create confusion in the social sector which we have supported since our founding,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. “As a result of the feedback we received, salesforce.com has decided to withdraw its efforts to trademark the term ‘social enterprise’ and plans to discontinue its use in our marketing.”


About salesforce.com
Founded in 1999, salesforce.com is the enterprise cloud computing leader. Using salesforce.com’s social and mobile cloud technologies, companies can connect with customers, partners and employees in entirely new ways. Based on salesforce.com’s real-time, multitenant architecture, the company’s platform and apps give customers the tools to create a social front office and revolutionize the way they sell, service, market, collaborate, work, and innovate.
• Grow your business with the world’s #1 sales app, Salesforce Sales Cloud
• Deliver amazing customer service with the award-winning Salesforce Service Cloud
• Listen, engage, advertise, and measure social media marketing with the Salesforce Marketing Cloud
• Achieve breakthrough collaboration and productivity with Salesforce Chatter
• Align, motivate and drive performance with Salesforce Rypple
• Build social and mobile cloud apps on the Salesforce Platform and extend success with the world’s leading enterprise app marketplace, the AppExchange

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About Salesforce

Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, empowering companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way through the power of CRM + AI + Data + Trust on one unified platform: Einstein 1. For more information visit: www.salesforce.com. 

Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase Salesforce applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit https://www.salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.

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