Who Owns Your Badge?

[Diamond Delta]

Originally posted by imsohappythatiama
It doesn't matter anyway...since wptw doesn't know my Curling Iron Ritual, my curling iron doesn't hold the same importance to him as it does to me, an initated member of the Curling Iron Society. My Curling Iron is only special because of the ritual associated with it, which is secret to only those members of the Society.

(Hell, it's a ritual I practice everyday, and I am willing to bet that wptw wouldn't know...and probably doesn't want to know...how to use a curling iron effectively!)

snicker, snicker

But if there were anyone on here who would know your curling iron ritual-it would be the big w!

I have a straightening ritual myself. Smooth and silky is the way for me! Otherwise I look like a poodle and that is NOT conduct becoming a sorority girl. (see another post for that cryptic literary allusion)

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

Originally posted by wptw
I own your crack pipe. Please complete the attached crack pipe disposition form and file it with your important documents.

wptw

Now, that's just well done.

[IvySpice]

Just wanted to throw my credentials around...I AM a lawyer, and wptw's statement of the law is exactly right.

[Tom Earp]

Lambda Chi Members buy and pay for our Badges, ergo, we as Brothers own them.

Mine will go to My LX Z (Chapter) when I pass.

I thought of having it passed to each new President, but kids tend to lose things.

What I want is a shadow box with The Beta Chi Local Badge and Pledge Pine I designed along My Alpha Phi Omega Badge, Theta Kappa Nu (Merged with LXA in 1939) and My Original Lambda Chi Alpha (White Gold, Pearls and Saphires) and given for display at the Chapter House.

History is very important to me to keep things within the Chapter and Fraternity.

[ASTLuv21]

I am not sure who techinally owns my badge. I know I paid for my badge. Maybe another sister could confirm this?

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

Originally posted by IvySpice
Just wanted to throw my credentials around...I AM a lawyer, and wptw's statement of the law is exactly right.

I saw a lawyer once. That gives me the same credentials, right?

[MysticCat]

Originally posted by IvySpice
Just wanted to throw my credentials around...I AM a lawyer, and wptw's statement of the law is exactly right.

co-sign.

[pixell]

This might not be the most correct answer, but I say I own it.
Yes, our nationals does say that the badge is an honor that can be taken away. I'm kind of conflicted on this, I believe they own it..to a certain extent. If I'm kicked out, then yes I'd return it. But, I wouldn't really want to give it up..even if my membership ceased. (Which will hopefully never happen) I feel connected to my badge and it means a lot to me, I can't see giving it up without a fight. I'd probably give in and return it, because honestly, if I'm no longer a member then I don't want to have any ties to it anyway. However, when I die, I don't plan to have it sent to nationals. I'd want someone that knows how much it means to me (even if they don't know the ritual meaning of it) to have possesion of it rather than it go sit in a box at headquarters. If I died today, I'd want on of my closest sisters to have it, either them or my boyfriend. They know how important it is to me and would take care of it for me. If I ever had a legacy, I'd want her to have it of course.
Sorry if this didn't make sense! To sum up: I'd say that I own my badge, but since I'm a member of Delta Zeta I'd have to say I'd try to stick to our rules. I don't like picking and choosing regulations.

[LPIDelta]

One of the reasons many national orgs are taking "ownership" of badges is to protect the orgs marks. Many are now registering the badge as a trademark of the organization, protecting it from copy or reproduction by unauthorized sources. If organizations don't take steps to protect their marks, they may lose right to them all together.

I heard a story about a national fraternity--we'll call it XYZ--that discovered there were groups of men somewhere in Asia that had gone to their website, downloaded their materials, and were calling themselves XYZ. They even had copies of the badge made. From a liability standpoint alone, I think we'd all agree this isn't good.

I know there is an NPC sorority that has members sign a statement agreeing that their badge is property of the national org. If I think of it, I'll throw it out there. I've done some research on this since I just wrote a convention resolution on ownership of the badge.

Love the curling iron commentary....

[wptw]

Owning the trademark on the badge design protects the group against unauthorized use and unauthorized copies, but it does not have any impact on the ownership of legitimately produced badges showing up on ebay.

Let's hear the convention resolution you wrote.

wptw

[kappa2]

Does anyone know how VERO on Ebay works with regard to this?

[wptw]

I do. It's simple. You show ebay which marks you own and they register you. Then you can report violations to them and have them pull auctions as appropriate. It's effective against trinket manufacturers who illegally use our marks on Tshirts, license plate covers, teddy bears, etc. That's the intention of the VERO program.

One sorority has even used their VERO participation to pull badge auctions, because if you're a VERO member reporting a supposed violation, ebay pulls the auction now, asks questions later. But that strategy doesn't work for very long. Once ebay finally gets around to investigating the claims, they realize badge sales aren't a trademark or copyright violation, and they'll no longer pull the auctions.

wptw

[kappa2]

Could a sorority use it to pull ritual items?

[wptw]

A photocopy of a ritual or other reproduction, probably yes. I've seen them pulled under the "copyright violation" complaint category, but this doesn't always work because ritual manuals aren't usually copyrighted. However, some have successfully argued it's private material and therefore protected under the "unauthorized copies" complaint category. I suppose VERO membership would strengthen your claim in this case.

But if it's an original item like an actual ritual manual, there's nothing you can do. Same deal as badges. Even if the ritual manual were copyrighted, it's not illegal for me to buy a copyrighted item on ebay. I can buy everything from a Baird's Manual to the latest NY Times Bestseller - they're all copyrighted. It's assumed part of the original purchase price included compensation for the owner of the work.

wptw

[kappa2]

A very big thanks to wptw for being such a great resource on the GC!!

Someone else PM'ed me and told me about the following ebay site to remove any and all fraternal directories on Ebay!!!!
At least there is one fraternal item that can be removed!!
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/maillists.html

eBay does not permit the sale of bulk email or mailing lists that contain names, addresses, phone numbers, or other personal identifying information.