Wednesday, May 29, 2013

I Don't 'Heart' What NY is Doing With It's Copyright

See the NYT article, click here.




Interesting, sad newspaper article.  (Be sure to read it by clicking the above link.)  I wonder if I would get in trouble with this design?  Paul Rand used the Eye hieroglyph for his IBM logo.

It's ridiculous, I guess they could take it a step further and copyright the Heart symbol.  I mean, nobody in America can professionally use "I Heart" but them?

It reminds me of an old Batman comic where the Riddler copyrights the letter e, the most commonly used letter in English.  It becomes almost impossible to write anything because the Riddler won't let anyone use "his" letter.  (It would have been cool if the comic writer had omitted the letter e from his text until they defeated the Riddler and got rid of his copyright.)

You can't use I Heart Symbol Yoga?  I guess they should sue if someone writes I Heart You in a love letter in a movie.  Did they sue the I Heart Huckabee's people?  I do understand NYC's legal and moral right to stop an infringement in this I Coffee Cup NY case.  I think it's very wrong to extend the city's rights to the simple, basic I + Heart Symbol.  Was it the specific typeface with the "I Heart Yoga" that NYC is objecting to?  If it was, then NYC should have just asked them to change the typeface and perhaps the exact heart icon.

Milton Glaser should say that he used a friend's idea for I Heart in the I Heart NY and NYC would loose their privilege to abuse when "the originator" refuses to let them use his idea.  (For absolute certain, he was not the very first to use "I Heart," and as such NYC should not be able to claim infringements based on that part of their logo only.)  Then NYC would have to return a portion of the $2.5 million dollars in fees they have been collecting each year.  For use by other cities, or if the same heart and typeface is used in I Heart, or if I... word-substitute-for-heart... NY is used, NYC's rights should stay.

OK, please forgive me, but I can't leave this article without referencing one of the greatest "I love" puns.  Drum roll please... On The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show they mention the Isle of Lucy, (I Love Lucy).




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