Quote:
Originally Posted by rslpac1
The only thing that I believe is the major sticking point, and one that sort of confuses me, is the fact that DU in the Phillippines did not optain approval from the International Fraternity, nor go through a colony process. The chartering of a chapter, much less initiating members, without the approval of that fraternity's national hq is grounds for expulsion in most if not all fraternities. Its illegal use of all the fraternities symbols, rituals, materials, etc...
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I think the legality can get a little sticky. Yes, names, coats-of-arms and the like are registered trademarks, and fraternities have the ability to take action for the unauthorized use of them. That gets much more complicated, and in some cases near impossible, though, when the unauthorized use is not in the United States.
Generic symbols typically are not protected. We, for example, could not trademark a simple lyre or triangle, although a specific design of such a symbol (such as the lyre in our visual identity) can be trademarked.
As for rituals, an interesting question is raised. Will the typical fraternity try to take any kind of legal action, since doing so would require the fraternity to go into court and prove the unauthorized use of the ritual? Doing so would almost certainly require the complaining fraternity to introduce its ritual into evidence.
Which reiterates what I think may be an important factor here -- DU is not a typical fraternity where ritual is concerned. Its ritual has always been open; non-secrecy was one of the founding principles of DU. The DU can be found on their national website. I wonder if that made it an easier target for the group in the Phillipines.
I'll admit that as I've read about these orgs in the Phillipines, I've wondered, "How would we do if it were us?" Unfortunately, I think that an equally important question is "What
could we do?"