Slashdot Mirror

In the article federal spokesman Shawn Dearn stated "The flag symbol is two red stripes (or black if printed on a black-and-white printer) with an 11-point maple leaf centred between the stripes, The national flag, on the other hand, is two red stripes with a white square containing an 11-point red maple leaf in the centre. The difference arises only when the two are printed on non-white paper, or when words are placed next to the flag"

From the screenshot We can see that the flag is on a red background, which if it was a flag symbol, then the area around the maple leaf would be the lighter shade of red as the background.

This leads us to ask why did the cease and desist notice claim the image was a flag symbol? Can't the government employee charged with enforcement tell the difference?

From the cease and desist notice we see that there is no mention of the proximity of the flag and the page title. The issue at that point is the flag image.

Now the federal government changes it's story...

Ok, So you say it must be the text next to the flag. On the what's new page for the site... as taken from Google Cache, we can see the flag is in the left margin, and the text is centered. The text is not next to the flag and the goverment maintained it was also an infringement. And again, the background is red, so the image is a flag and not a flag symbol.

Doesn't hold water either. It's not a flag symbol and the placement of the text doesn't matter. The question remains... why was this site singled out? Is this what is possibly in store for anybody who becomes vocal about governmental policy?

Worse still is the fact that representatives of the government of Canada are making fraudulent claims of trademark infringement based on the fact that the government has chosen a logo, that can't be easily distinguished from a Canadian flag. So for all practicle purposes, the government has the exclusive rights to the display of the Canadian flag.

It is my contention that it is the government of Canada, which their flag look-a-like logo and their claim to exclusive rights to such, that are infringing on the trademark of the people of Canada, and the government of Canada should immediately cease and desist all use of this image.

In the article federal spokesman Shawn Dearn stated "The flag symbol is two red stripes (or black if printed on a black-and-white printer) with an 11-point maple leaf centred between the stripes, The national flag, on the other hand, is two red stripes with a white square containing an 11-point red maple leaf in the centre. The difference arises only when the two are printed on non-white paper, or when words are placed next to the flag"

From the screenshot We can see that the flag is on a red background, which if it was a flag symbol, then the area around the maple leaf would be the lighter shade of red as the background.

This leads us to ask why did the cease and desist notice claim the image was a flag symbol? Can't the government employee charged with enforcement tell the difference?

From the cease and desist notice we see that there is no mention of the proximity of the flag and the page title. The issue at that point is the flag image.

Now the federal government changes it's story...

Ok, So you say it must be the text next to the flag. On the what's new page for the site... as taken from Google Cache, we can see the flag is in the left margin, and the text is centered. The text is not next to the flag and the goverment maintained it was also an infringement. And again, the background is red, so the image is a flag and not a flag symbol.

Doesn't hold water either. It's not a flag symbol and the placement of the text doesn't matter. The question remains... why was this site singled out? Is this what is possibly in store for anybody who becomes vocal about governmental policy?

Worse still is the fact that representatives of the government of Canada are making fraudulent claims of trademark infringement based on the fact that the government has chosen a logo, that can't be easily distinguished from a Canadian flag. So for all practicle purposes, the government has the exclusive rights to the display of the Canadian flag.

It is my contention that it is the government of Canada, which their flag look-a-like logo and their claim to exclusive rights to such, that are infringing on the trademark of the people of Canada, and the government of Canada should immediately cease and desist all use of this image.

In the article federal spokesman Shawn Dearn stated "The flag symbol is two red stripes (or black if printed on a black-and-white printer) with an 11-point maple leaf centred between the stripes, The national flag, on the other hand, is two red stripes with a white square containing an 11-point red maple leaf in the centre. The difference arises only when the two are printed on non-white paper, or when words are placed next to the flag"

From the screenshot We can see that the flag is on a red background, which if it was a flag symbol, then the area around the maple leaf would be the lighter shade of red as the background.

This leads us to ask why did the cease and desist notice claim the image was a flag symbol? Can't the government employee charged with enforcement tell the difference?

From the cease and desist notice we see that there is no mention of the proximity of the flag and the page title. The issue at that point is the flag image.

Now the federal government changes it's story...

Ok, So you say it must be the text next to the flag. On the what's new page for the site... as taken from Google Cache, we can see the flag is in the left margin, and the text is centered. The text is not next to the flag and the goverment maintained it was also an infringement. And again, the background is red, so the image is a flag and not a flag symbol.

Doesn't hold water either. It's not a flag symbol and the placement of the text doesn't matter. The question remains... why was this site singled out? Is this what is possibly in store for anybody who becomes vocal about governmental policy?

Worse still is the fact that representatives of the government of Canada are making fraudulent claims of trademark infringement based on the fact that the government has chosen a logo, that can't be easily distinguished from a Canadian flag. So for all practicle purposes, the government has the exclusive rights to the display of the Canadian flag.

It is my contention that it is the government of Canada, which their flag look-a-like logo and their claim to exclusive rights to such, that are infringing on the trademark of the people of Canada, and the government of Canada should immediately cease and desist all use of this image.

Ms. Jan Ovens, to which I have directly asked what were the rules, was unable to say. Her demand was to remove all flags from the website. In addition, I have provided links to her on various websites which display the canadian flag, and again she was not able to say which were legal, and which weren't. Her remarks were the restating of Section 9 of the trademark act, and Article 6ter of the Paris Convention for the protection of industrial property. She did say that the "Canadian Flag was THE global identifier of the Government of Canada". I have asked her what was the global identifer of the citizens of Canada, and again she was unable to say. Transcript of messages to Ms. Jan Ovens, Federal Identity Directorate. http://canadianflag.org/reqinfo.html I think if you will view the screenshot, you will notice this does not bare any resemblence to a Government site. http://canadianflag.org/images/canadaforces.jpg

Ms. Jan Ovens, to which I have directly asked what were the rules, was unable to say. Her demand was to remove all flags from the website. In addition, I have provided links to her on various websites which display the canadian flag, and again she was not able to say which were legal, and which weren't. Her remarks were the restating of Section 9 of the trademark act, and Article 6ter of the Paris Convention for the protection of industrial property. She did say that the "Canadian Flag was THE global identifier of the Government of Canada". I have asked her what was the global identifer of the citizens of Canada, and again she was unable to say. Transcript of messages to Ms. Jan Ovens, Federal Identity Directorate. http://canadianflag.org/reqinfo.html I think if you will view the screenshot, you will notice this does not bare any resemblence to a Government site. http://canadianflag.org/images/canadaforces.jpg

No just flags. To see a screenshot of the way the page looked prior to removing the flags go to http://canadianflag.org/images/canadaforces.jpg