Maybe they should ask the people of Haiti, what they think about this "pure" symbol. They really shouldn't talk about misuse without transparency in their own company. https://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-re...
It may just be a game to you, but it means the world to us
41–50 of 253 posts
Re: It may just be a game to you, but it means the world to us
#42The green cross is generally the recommended alternative. Note that this isn't normal copyright, the red cross is protected under the Geneva Conventions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblems_of_the_International_R...
A green cross definitely means marijuana dispensary to my eyes. Is it actually used elsewhere?
I always thought green cross means pharmacy.
But I also spent a lot of my youth in France, where it means exactly that.
Re: It may just be a game to you, but it means the world to us
#43> In an increasingly uncertain world, this protective use of the red cross emblem has become more and more important. In the past ten years, there have been 162 fatalities among Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement personnel including two Canadians. I don't understand how these two sentences are related and the article doesn't explain it as far as I can tell. They seem to be vaguely insinuating that video games approp…
I think this quotation best summarizes the article
"When someone misuses the red cross,(the video game industry being just one of many), we seek their cooperation in ending the unauthorized use"
The red cross is a protect trademark so this seems reasonable.
Re: It may just be a game to you, but it means the world to us
#44Can't see how restricting usage of the symbol is helpful at all. Pure rent seeking >In an increasingly uncertain world ...
> Pure rent seeking
That's just a categorically false accusation, since the whole point here is that they don't want the symbol to be used at all in certain contexts.
Re: It may just be a game to you, but it means the world to us
#45> Under the Charter Act that was adopted in 1900 under the Geneva Convention (and later amended in 1905 and again in 1910)3, the American Red Cross has the exclusive right to use a red Greek cross4 on a white field, with the only exception being that any user of such an emblem prior to 1905 would continue to have the right to use the emblem. Registrations owned by Johnson & Johnson for red Greek crosses date from 1906 and claim first use dates of 1898, and thus its right to use those marks were grandfathered based on the American Red Cross Charter Act. J&J continues using similar trademarks today...
https://www.bradley.com/insights/publications/2012/04/one-cr...
In my unprofessional opinion, the red cross should go the way of "tissue", "google", "coke", etc. It's too common, hasn't been enforced. You lose the exclusive right to it.
Re: It may just be a game to you, but it means the world to us
#46The green cross is generally the recommended alternative. Note that this isn't normal copyright, the red cross is protected under the Geneva Conventions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblems_of_the_International_R...
If video games or art or movies are depicting the appropriate scenarios, such as a scene involving army medics, wouldn't that be a constructive use of the symbol? It would spread awareness and education. A green cross would confuse people.
That's where I'm confused. I see the issue with products appropriating it as a sort of brand hijacking...like the example of a first aid kit with a red cross.
But tv, movies, games, etc, just showing an accurate representation of real life, within the media itself seems...normal.
I think if they have to, the least confusing thing would be a red square with a white cross inside it. That's what a lot of first aid kits seem to do. Though perhaps the Swiss wouldn't be thrilled. Maybe a white cross in a red circle?
Re: It may just be a game to you, but it means the world to us
#47Note that this has been problematic because it's been inconsistently enforced. It's also not a new issue. From 2017: https://kotaku.com/video-games-arent-allowed-to-use-the-red-...
Re: It may just be a game to you, but it means the world to us
#48The green cross is generally the recommended alternative. Note that this isn't normal copyright, the red cross is protected under the Geneva Conventions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblems_of_the_International_R...
A green cross definitely means marijuana dispensary to my eyes. Is it actually used elsewhere?
Pharmacy in Australia
Re: It may just be a game to you, but it means the world to us
#49The green cross is generally the recommended alternative. Note that this isn't normal copyright, the red cross is protected under the Geneva Conventions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblems_of_the_International_R...
A green cross definitely means marijuana dispensary to my eyes. Is it actually used elsewhere?
Yes, it's used in many places. It's very commonly used to indicate pharmacies throughout Europe. I've also seen it used in the US on various medical supplies and defibrillator stations.
Re: It may just be a game to you, but it means the world to us
#50> In an increasingly uncertain world, this protective use of the red cross emblem has become more and more important. In the past ten years, there have been 162 fatalities among Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement personnel including two Canadians. I don't understand how these two sentences are related and the article doesn't explain it as far as I can tell. They seem to be vaguely insinuating that video games approp…
I don't think they are insinuating that. I think they are claiming that pulling the Red Cross into public domain dilutes its symbolism from the neutral humanitarian organization they intend it to stand for, to "generic medical symbol potentially used by anyone", which could potentially open personnel up to violence.
Putting those two sentences together is how you insuate such a thing.
EDIT: There's a really big issue here with the public perception of the Red Cross. I expect most people think of the Red Cross as a purely benevolent organization. They're the folks with the bell-ringing Santa Clauses, for example. Who can argue with Santa Claus? So while most people are going to see this as "don't pick on the little, helpful people", if you're more familiar with the history the Red Cross, you'll be remembering some scandals they've been involved with. Some of that is accountable to the fact that it's a gigantic organization and corruption is not unavoidable at such a scale. But also, the stakes are so very high that you'd hope they had a better handle on it.