Badges and Terms

[David B. Appleton]

>On Fri, 20 Jun 1997, dennis grace <amazing at mail.utexas.edu> wrote:
>> Nah.  Not a "good reason" at all.  Of course the Red Cross isn't a
>> trademark.  If it were, the Geneva Convention couldn't have required
>> that it be used as one of the four accepted DO NOT
>> BOMB--HUMANITARIAN AID STATION symbols.
...
>> This is yet another example of our heralds being overly sensitive to
>> the claims of outsiders.

>What I heard at the time is that there is an international treaty
>concerning use of a red cross ("couped": arms truncated, not like the
>ensign of England).  That report provoked an unusual amount of
>sensitivity -- courtesy is one issue, but treaties even trump federal
>laws.

"The badge conflicts with the insignia of the International Red Cross, not
by _our_ rules, but by _theirs_.  As stated in Corpora Appendix A, the
Society recognizes the absolute precedence of law issued by civil
authorities over any of its internal rules.'  International treaty severely
restricts the use of a cross couped gules, and this takes precedence over
_any_ of the Rules for Submission, including those for difference, of the
SCA."  LoAR February 1992, p. 32.

"[T]he use of a cross couped gules should probably no longer be allowed in
SCA heraldry because of the international treaties and federal law which
protect that charge and restrict its use to the International Red Cross
(and as a trademark to those who were using it before those treaties went
into effect)."  (LoAR May 1992, p. 30)

>> Boy scouts use the red cross on their merit badges.  First aid kits
>> are labeled with red crosses.

Only first aid kits by those companies who were using a red cross on a
white field _before_ the treaty was signed.  Johnson & Johnson is one of
those companies, so they use the red cross emblem.  Johnny Come Latelies
have to either (a) use something else or (b) hope the American Red Cross
and/or International Red Cross doesn't catch them.  The Boy Scouts may, as
a charitable organization, etc., etc., may have a special dispensation from
the IRC.  You'd have to ask _them_ about that.

>I do recall seeing the latter, tho not recently (not that I've been
>looking).  Those would be counterarguments.

>I'll CC this mail to Master Da'ud ibn Auda, who was Laurel King of
>Arms at least during part of this time.

Yeah, it was under my tenure that the SCA had to change the badge for the
Chirugeon (which had been changed once already because it looked like a KKK
badge).  This came about because some SCA Chirurgeon in Drachenwald wore
their SCA chirurgeon's baldric to a Red Cross meeting.  They were informed
in no uncertain terms that the display was not permissible.  The Laurel
files should still have the copy of the relevant portions of the
international treaty restricting the use of the red cross to the IRC/ARC.

Not wanting to take the chance of the SCA being hauled before the
international court in The Hague, and also wishing to be "good neighbors",
the SCA voluntarily changed the Chirurgeon's badge.

Da'ud
74107.1446 at compuserve.com