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Wounds Heal in Red Cross Dispute

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Posted on Jun 18, 2008
Band Aid Tins
urbanprarie.net

The legal dispute was over the Red Cross’ use of a red cross in commercial dealings; Johnson & Johnson believed itself to be the exclusive owner of a logo with two red lines intersecting.

After coming to its public relations senses, medical firm Johnson & Johnson has decided it wouldn’t be wise to proceed with a lawsuit against the Red Cross charity over a trademark agreement made in 1895. The initial case was brought by the firm after the Red Cross began to sell safety kits to fundraise for its many disaster-relief campaigns.


The BBC:

Medical firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and the American Red Cross have agreed to end their legal dispute over the charity’s use of the red cross symbol.

The deal avoids a trial and upholds the right of the American Red Cross to use the emblem for commercial purposes.

J&J had alleged that an agreement with the charity’s founder in 1895 gave it the exclusive use of the symbol as a trademark for drug products.

The charity had called the lawsuit “obscene”.

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By hippy pam, June 19, 2008 at 11:14 am #

My grand mom did volunteer work for that organization
and when FLINT had the BEECHER TORNADO-She was out there…I was about 6 years old…I remember the big sheet with the large red cross on it hanging by a truck…EVERY ONE WITH NEEDS KNEW TO COME TO THAT SIGN-OR SEND SOMEONE TO THAT SIGN…J + J has a HELL of a lot of nerve in order to SUE A CHARITY…I sure DO NOT SEE THEIR CEOs out there doing volunteer work
in the recent flooded areas nor in the Tornado or fire disaster areas ....

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By Jim Yell, June 19, 2008 at 10:19 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Corporations have abused their protections over symbols and products to make huge amounts of money for doing nothing constructive at all.

An over haul of patents and copy rights need to be made to stop giving unending rights to names and symbols that belong to humanity as a whole. The courts need to stop this nit picking.

I suggest that one place to start is if patents are held for 10 years without productive use of the information that it should become public domain and anyone wanting to use these ideas could do so with out paying ransom. Most of the patents are held by corporations solely to keep others from using the information. That isn’t a very good idea at all. The people who actually had the idea usually have sold them for nothing compared to what the corporations make from using them or withholding them. Drug companies are the worst.

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By Purple Girl, June 19, 2008 at 8:12 am #

J&J;has no claim to that symbol. it has been a symbol of charity since the time of the St John’s Hospitallers ( Templars) From the middle Ages. In Fact the use of that symbol to gain profits is a travesty. It does not symbolize the bandages, it symbolizes the mission of those who care for the sick & needy. The organization called the Red Cross has more right to that Symbol then any Bandaid & anteseptic spray company who provides no help in their adminstration of such health aids.
J&J;should reliquish it’s Use of such a symbol unless they intend to man Care centers which provide services for Free, along with their products. It is not a symbol of which should be used Lightly- it’s history and meaning go far deeper then That.Granted the use on emergency Kits should continue since it has become a universally recognized emblem. but should not be used as a Logo, unless adhering to it’s true meaning.
Of course they are not the only offenders of Using sacred symbols to equate their company or product with the ideologies and convictions which the symbol was originally intended. It’s a subliminal technique to elicite associations which will provke a favorable impression- regardless of the current adherence to the idea behind it.
Symbols were our first form of communication and continue to hold innately powerful ideas.Advertisers and Marketing use them for just that reason-for you to make a mental connection regardless of whether or not it is warranted.Subliminal Advertising through Symbols.

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