Re: I'll let the Freemasons know Debian is distributing their trademark
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 16:53:32 -0500, Brian Thomas Sniffen
<bts@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> William Ballard <nospam_40811@alltel.net> writes:
>
> > On Tue, Jan 11, 2005 at 02:10:26PM -0500, Brian Thomas Sniffen wrote:
>
> > You've got the Freemason logo in there feature for feature!
> > That's not "original clip art." That's an original copy.
>
> Of something old enough that the copyright is expired and it's in the
> public domain. That symbol has been around for centuries. So your
> point is what, exactly? What law might we be violating by shipping
> that? Upon what principle of equity or fair dealing might we intrude?
Please please please don't start confabulating 'trademark' with
'copyright'. They are not the same thing at all, and are subject to
very different legal strictures.
With reference to the Freemason's logo, has there ever been a claim by
the Masons that this is a trademark? I've seen it used in churches in
Scotland, Ireland and Uganda, not to mention the fact that it adorns
many masonic web-sites without the requisite copyright or trademark
declaration?
Daniel.
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