Dear John:
Thanks for the commentary! It is helpful.
The use for the logo is for an article on the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod -- and for any other article or image gallery, etc. a Wikipedia editor wishes to put it to.
My analysis for the first factor was Wikipedia is not entitled to claim educational use, since it is not an accredited institution of learning. It is also not a commercial enterprise, nor is its purpose commerce. (although some entities are downloading and putting their articles for sale on CD-ROMs). There is no discussion of the logo on the LCMS page itself, although there is on the image information page. I wasn't sure if simply putting the image in a new context (which seems to be the purpose for the image to start with) would be seen as transformative. So I was unsure which way this factor would fall, so I deemed it neutral.
For factor two, I see the logo as a work of graphic art and thus the factor weighing against fair use.
For factor three, I see the logo being used in its entirety, and thus weighing against fair use.
For factor four, since the image is given away free, I do not see an effect on the market. So this factor would tend to support fair use.
I concluded, then, the use of the image was not fair use.
Are there flaws in my reasoning?
Bob
Rev. Robert E. Smith
Electronic Resources Librarian
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana
"Translatio traditio est."
-----Original Message-----
From: CNI-COPYRIGHT -- Copyright & Intellectual Property
[mailto:CNI-COPYRIGHT[_at_]cni.org] On Behalf Of jfnbl[_at_]earthlink.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 9:05 AM
To: CNI-COPYRIGHT -- Copyright & Intellectual Property
Subject: [CNI-(C)] Re: Using Logos in Wikipedia Articles without
pemission
At 11:00 AM -0400 10/2/06, Smith, Robert E. wrote:
>Dear Friends:
>
>Thanks for the responses! The issue is more complex than I expected
>and we've already had a range of opinion.
>I'm very interested in what others have to say on the issue. One
>thing that confuses me. I thought that some case law is out there
>that strictly defines the first factor term educational as an
>activity limited to educational institutions. Does anyone know if
>I'm correct or mistaken on the matter?
The first factor is much more than a distinction between commercial and educational use. It goes to whether the use is transformative, i.e. whether it puts the protected work to a new and different use, including commercial news, commentary, and even satire for money. I can't figure out from the discussion at wikpedia exactly what they want to do with it, but if, for instance, they were building a database of marks that are protected by copyright rather than trademark registration -- supplementing the PTO's online access to registered trademarks -- that would be a transformative and valuable use that would not interfere with the Church's use, cause customer confusion, or dilute the commercial value of the mark.
>Also, is the LCMS statement inaccurate and, if so, how and what
>would they need to include to make it accurate if it is not? (this
>is not a request for legal advice, nor will answers be received as
>such)
I looked at the policy:
http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/GraphicSheet.pdf#xml
I don't know where the reputation comes from, but it strikes me as
perfectly reasonable: "Maintaining the visual consistency of The
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod corporate logo is vital to preserving
its integrity, recognition and trademark protections." Note that they
seem to think that it's a protected /trademark/. They may assert
copyright protection where the trademark doesn't help because there's
no prospect of consumer confusion, but I don't get the impression
that they're unreasonable. They seem to be more concerned with
protecting its integrity by accurate renditions than with forbidding
its use. They even provide detailed instructions for using the mark
without corrupting it. I thought this part was particularly gracious:
"Items for Sale: Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis has been given an exclusive license to sell products featuring the logo or church signature. However, if you wish to sell items at cost or for a fund-raiser (coffee mugs,T-shirts, etc.) or use such items to identify members (car decals, bumper stickers, lapel pins, etc.) within your congregation or synodical organization, you may do so. If in doubt, contact the Board for Communication Services to get permission to use the logo."
>Finally, does anyone object to having a link to the archive version
>of this thread put into the wikipedia discussion? If so, I will not
>do this.
Nobody has a right or a reason to object to a link to this discussion.
John Noble
>Bob
>
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