A Canadian motorcycle club is being hassled by The Man, but neither party is somebody you’d expect to see in this controversy.
According to Canoe.ca, the Canadian Veteran Freedom Riders (CVFR) are in a bit of hot water. This veteran’s motorcycle club isn’t in trouble for burnouts, wheelies, or crime, though; instead, they’re drawing heat from the Royal Canadian Legion.
It seems the CVFR have included a poppy in their group’s emblem, and the Legion doesn’t like that one bit. They’ve copyrighted the poppy as a logo, and don’t feel the veteran’s club should be using it, even though it’s not the central focus of their club’s emblem.
Club president Capt. Michael Blow is none too happy with the situation; the CVFR even raises money for veterans sometimes. He says he thought they were on the same side as the Legion before, but now he says they’re morally wrong to threaten him with litigation over his club’s emblem
The Legion says the reason for their request is simple – they want the poppy to remain a symbol of remembrance, not part of a logo, but Blow disagrees. He says the whole point of his group’s emblem is remembrance.
The legion is now run by people who never served. All they want is a cheap place to drink associate memebership should be cancelled the place must be run by veterans
This is interesting. I was not aware that the poppy was copywrited. I have a hobby making laser signs and such. A few years ago I made a large poppy about 24″ x 24″ I donated that one to a local legion where I live and they mounted it on the out side of their building. I have made several small poppies that I call garden poppies with lest we forget engraved on them and was selling these for $3 each and donating one dollar from each to the legion. So far I have only sold very few of these so have not made a donation yet. The money is sitting at home until I have sold a few more. After reading this I may have to rethink the whole idea.
So here we are in 2018. How is your honourable venture going? Would you be willing to send one to Ontario, I would of course pay for postage. Would you post a picture to my FB, Ralf J. Winter? Thank you
The legion took a few and they were not the success I planned. They paid me for the bunch they got and said they would not want more. Than my laser broke and I sold it so cannot make any more. Thanks though
So you’re saying that the Legion shouldn’t defend their copyrighted property because it’ll cost money to do so?
Should everyone then start to use the poppy in their logo because the Legion doesn’t want to risk spending money and offending people such as yourself?
Help me understand how that makes sense?
Back that statement up with some numbers. Is “everyone” misappropriating the logo? Give me a couple of other examples of veterans groups that are using the logo without permission. How deep is this problem? Or is it just that the professional fundraisers have overrun the organization. Get your priorities straight.
How can you copyright a commonly grown flower that only became popular to the western world following the trench warfare in the poppy fields of Flanders during World War I?
True. He may be wrong… but if the money is going to lawyers and frivolous lawsuits… then I won’t be buying a poppy any time soon.
Capt. Michael Blow needs to brush up on his copyright law. He can disagree all he wants. He’s still wrong.
My question would be: How can you copyright a commonly grown flower (world wide) that only became popular to the western world following the trench warfare in the poppy fields of Flanders during World War I?
The design is actually of the UK poppy do the RCL know this. They do not own the copywrite to that one. Nice try