[Clipart] Inclusion of copyrighted logo in your library

Jose Hevia jose.francisco.hevia at gmail.com
Wed Sep 21 09:22:53 PDT 2005


> > I had multiple times released logos as public domain. Reason is I
> > consider very useful to have a repository when I could get a vector
> > "tux" for giving a presentation (hey, inkscape had one in examples
> > directory from Sodipodi's days!!) or the blender icon for my desktop
> > as the blender foundation doesn't give you one.
>
> The thing is, you can only release an image into the public domain if
> you are the copyright holder.  NO ONE ELSE CAN DO IT.  I don't just
> mean no one else is _allowed_ to do it; I mean no one else is _able_
> to do it.  If I say, "I hereby release the Microsoft Windows logo into
> the public domain", it's still not released into the public domain,
> because I am not the copyright holder, and the copyright holder has
> not released it.
>
> For example, you can only release Tux into the public domain if you
> are Larry Ewing.

This is the problem of public domain, Larry Ewing or anyone is never
going to make public domain their logos to prevent abuses like the
blender one. But if I need a Inkscape or Blender vector icon, I want
to be able of making it only one time. (GPL for logos?)

You can only release an image into the public domain if you are the
copyright holder or if your design is not the same as the original
one. If my blender icon is green and yellow and is not the same as the
original, because I made it from start and wanted to make it slightly
different, then it could be. How much different is "different"?.

Well, you are right, it was only a question of time to happen, but I
have not the time to remove my own now.

Sorry...                                                           Jose Hevia



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