raj2569 writes "You might have thought that the White House had enough on its plate late last month, what with its search for a new Supreme Court nominee, the continuing war in Iraq and the C.I.A. leak investigation. But it found time to add another item to its agenda - stopping The Onion (soul sucking, life sapping, irritating, obnoxious, but still free registration), the satirical newspaper, from using the presidential seal." The only joke here is that our tax dollars are being spent on this. White House Cease & Desists to The Onion Log in/Create an Account | Top | 740 comments (Spill at 50!) | Index Only | Search Discussion Display Options Threshold: -1: 740 comments 0: 727 comments 1: 577 comments 2: 418 comments 3: 122 comments 4: 63 comments 5: 47 comments Flat Nested No Comments Threaded Oldest First Newest First Highest Scores First Oldest First (Ignore Threads) Newest First (Ignore Threads) The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. (1) | 2 Everyone else is clamping down on their IP rights (Score:4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 25, @09:31AM (#13871093) why not the government?Seriously, with the recent frenzy over "intellectual property" restrictions, why shouldn't the government get into the restraining free speech business, like everyone else? [ Reply to This Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ (Score:5, Insightful) by karnifex (724937) on Tuesday October 25, @10:06AM (#13871401) (http://snakedart.com/) Because the government belongs to . . . (drumroll please) . . . the citizens of the United States! [ Reply to This | Parent Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ (Score:5, Funny) by Anonymous Brave Guy (457657) on Tuesday October 25, @11:00AM (#13871861) Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I think you misspelled "corporations" there. :-) [ Reply to This | Parent Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ (Score:5, Interesting) by justin12345 (846440) on Tuesday October 25, @11:41AM (#13872214) The corporations are the citizens. The non-corporate entities are just plebs. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by cursion (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @03:42PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by colmore (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @05:00PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by jZnat (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @05:48PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by TheHorse13 (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:37AMBecause the country is being run by assholes by |/|/||| (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:23PMRe:Because the country is being run by assholes by aled (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:44PMRe:Because the country is being run by assholes by johnlcallaway (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @03:02PMRe:Because the country is being run by assholes by evilpenguin (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:18PMRe:Because the country is being run by assholes by johnlcallaway (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @04:53PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by TheHorse13 (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @12:32PM2 replies beneath your current threshold. Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ (Score:4, Interesting) by Salamander (33735) <slashdot AT pl DOT atyp DOT us> on Tuesday October 25, @11:47AM (#13872274) (http://pl.atyp.us/ | Last Journal: Friday October 11, @01:31PM) why not the government? Because the government is supposed to represent the people, and therefore not to hold any exclusive IP. As others have pointed out, though, this is not an IP issue. Using the seal is more akin to copying someone's signature than copying their trademark, and it's forbidden by other laws. That doesn't mean that the government's action in this case is right or a good use of taxpayer money, but it's necessary to understand which laws and principles are involved before we can make that determination. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by Salamander (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:16PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by bb_referee (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @12:02PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by mOdQuArK! (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @07:28PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by operagost (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:15PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by Kierthos (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:52PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by jxs2151 (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @02:53PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by jxs2151 (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @03:29PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by BAM0027 (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:54PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by ottffssent (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @02:15PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by john82 (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:09PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by Daniel Dvorkin (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @05:16PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by sumdumass (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @06:59PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by kelzer (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @08:33PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by ottffssent (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:50PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by susano_otter (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @07:15PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by ottffssent (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:59PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by 12AKC34 (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @02:27PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by m4dm4n (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:10AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by DeafByBeheading (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:12AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by deanj (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @10:31AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by DeafByBeheading (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:44AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by e_slarti (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @11:19AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by 'nother poster (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @11:22AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by jkabbe (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:27AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by DustMagnet (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @12:34PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by operagost (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:18PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by jkabbe (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:22PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by sumdumass (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @07:13PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by shawb (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:14PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by Brad Mace (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:48PMThanks for the citation - NOT GUILTY! by wsanders (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @02:08PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by d34thm0nk3y (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @03:33PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by feijai (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:37AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by feijai (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @11:40AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by NewWorldDan (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:09PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by ifwm (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @11:48AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by CSfreakazoid (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @02:50PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by feijai (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:55AMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by CastrTroy (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:13PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by feijai (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @05:25PM Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ (Score:5, Insightful) by Doc Ruby (173196) on Tuesday October 25, @12:01PM (#13872383) (http://slashdot.org/~Doc%20Ruby/journal | Last Journal: Thursday March 31, @02:48PM) No, free speech means saying anything you want, no matter who said it (or thought it) first, or any other qualification. Practical free speech means some limits necessary to running a working society are imposed, like the proverbial "shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater' (except from the stage, or when there's a fire). Those limits do not prohibit satirical speech, because private commercial interests are overbalanced by the public interest in commentary. Especially where the government is concerned, satire is more important. There's no prohibition on profiting from satire - the profits enable the satirist to satirize.So, in fact, this story is entirely about free speech, as is perfectly obvious. And it's about the most important speech that's protected by our laws: criticizing the government. The government isn't just some corporation with a product, it's us, it's ours. Especially right now, while this government is run by people under indictment for suppressing info, attacking legitimate dissenters, publishing lies unchallenged by most media, violating conflict-of-interest restraints on commercial communications, secret deals to launder money for illegal advertising. We need more speech, more criticism of the government. And satire lets us do that without the truth drowning us in numbing cynicism. Hail to The Onion, America's Finest News Source. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by operagost (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:23PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by Doc Ruby (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @01:36PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by IA-Outdoors (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @05:49PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by Doc Ruby (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @06:11PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Free speech, not Free Lies by RealProgrammer (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:28PMRe:Free speech, not Free Lies by Doc Ruby (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:41PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by salzbrot (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:36PM Re:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ (Score:4, Insightful) by Doc Ruby (173196) on Tuesday October 25, @01:49PM (#13873318) (http://slashdot.org/~Doc%20Ruby/journal | Last Journal: Thursday March 31, @02:48PM) People who don't vote for these animals don't have to feel as bad. People who vote for someone better get to feel good about our part. People who get other people to vote for someone better get to feel even better. And when we get people who actually manage our government in the interest of our citizens, we get to feel like real Americans - the best feeling in the world. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by japhmi (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:46PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by Doc Ruby (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:52PMRe:Everyone else is clamping down on their IP righ by Doc Ruby (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @02:37PM5 replies beneath your current threshold.Opympic Rings by wiredlogic (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @09:32AMRe:Opympic Rings by sznupi (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @09:39AMRe:Opympic Rings by Mr Z (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:22AMRe:Opympic Rings by FigWig (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @12:33PMRe:Opympic Rings by j-cloth (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @09:40AMRe:Opympic Rings by GJSchaller (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:44AMRe:Opympic Rings by div_2n (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @09:45AM1 reply beneath your current threshold.What's this all about by PhilHibbs (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:18AMRe:What's this all about by jkabbe (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @11:30AMRe:What's this all about by jkabbe (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:08PM2 replies beneath your current threshold.Re:Opympic Rings by incabulos (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @07:05PMRe:Opympic Rings by Anonymous Coward (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @09:44AMRe:Opympic Rings by Doc Ruby (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @10:01AMRe:Opympic Rings by Martin Blank (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:11PM2 replies beneath your current threshold.Not My Tax Dollars! by Nqdiddles (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @09:32AMRe:Not My Tax Dollars! by Short Circuit (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @09:44AM well... (Score:5, Funny) by mtjs (918147) on Tuesday October 25, @09:32AM (#13871102) (http://linux.be/) hahahahahahahah ha ha haha ha. YOUR tax dollars. [ Reply to ThisRe:well... by failure-man (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @10:12AMRe:well... by berbo (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:18AMRe:well... by Shaper_pmp (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:01AMRe:well... by Syberghost (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:50PMUS current account balance by fideli (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @03:23PMRe:US current account balance by Syberghost (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:56PMRe:US current account balance by fideli (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @07:39PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold.You'd think this administration... by Prospero's Grue (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @09:33AMRe:You'd think this administration... by Drachasor (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @09:39AMRe:You'd think this administration... by What me a Coward (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:28PMRe:You'd think this administration... by quarkscat (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @03:00PM I dunno (Score:5, Insightful) by julesh (229690) on Tuesday October 25, @09:33AM (#13871110) I mean... they could find somebody dull enough to believe the Onion was actually a real presidential announcement.The point is, though, that the seal is used to indicate official documents, etc. Using it on the Onion does make it look official, to the uninitiated. I'd suggest they should use a modified version, like whitehouse.org [whitehouse.org] does. [ Reply to This Re:I dunno (Score:5, Funny) by bzipitidoo (647217) <bzipitidoo@bigfoot.com> on Tuesday October 25, @09:41AM (#13871191) Nah, everyone knows The Onion is a joke. The Onion said so. Maybe the fear is that people will think the current administration is a joke too. Oh wait... [ Reply to This | Parent Re:I dunno (Score:5, Interesting) by Zigg (64962) <matt@zigg.com> on Tuesday October 25, @10:15AM (#13871472) (http://zigg.com/) Nah, everyone knows The Onion is a joke. Not everyone [snopes.com]. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:I dunno by bvdbos (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:30AMRe:I dunno by gad_zuki! (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @12:47PMRe:I dunno by denttford (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @12:55PMRe:I dunno by basshedz2 (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:27PMGulp... by Spy der Mann (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @11:23AM1 reply beneath your current threshold.3 replies beneath your current threshold. How about a disclaimer (Score:5, Insightful) by hey! (33014) on Tuesday October 25, @09:45AM (#13871231) (http://kamthaka.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Wednesday March 30, @04:18PM) Like a red semi-transparent banner across the seal, with the following words;The Whitehouse thinks you're too stupid to realize this image is a satirical fake. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:How about a disclaimer by Verteiron (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:15AMRe:How about a disclaimer by rho (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:11PMRe:How about a disclaimer by hey! (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:33PMRe:How about a disclaimer by SecretAsianMan (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @02:06PMRe:How about a disclaimer by ipfwadm (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:41PM2 replies beneath your current threshold.Re:How about a disclaimer by whoisjoe (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @12:41PM2 replies beneath your current threshold.Re:I dunno by C0vardeAn0nim0 (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:05AMRe:I dunno by Yez70 (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:12AM Re:I dunno (Score:5, Informative) by ajs (35943) <ajs@[ ].com ['ajs' in gap]> on Tuesday October 25, @10:27AM (#13871581) (http://www.ajs.com/~ajs/) It's not a matter of confusion, but of the nature of the seal. This is not a trademark.This might be hard for most people to understand these days (since we don't use seals the way we used to), but let me use an analogy. Let's say that The Oninon put up a story which featured your company's CEO's signature. I'm sure that within a short span of minutes, they'd get some pretty irate calls from your executive management team. Same exact deal here. The President's signature is actually not terribly potent, as he is only the temporary holder of the office. What's important is the seal which represents the office, regardless of who holds it. It's more than a flag or a signature or a logo. It's represents the authorization of the President of the United States. This is why you cannot sell any item that contains the seal (for example, someone was sharing cigars with the seal at the office the other day, since he didn't smoke and couldn't do anything else with them).I'm no banner-waver for this administration, but in this case, I would hope that any executive administration would have come down swiftly on such use of the seal.It's trivial for The Onion to make a parody of the seal, and they know better. This smells like a grab for headlines to me. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:I dunno by Threni (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @10:54AMRe:I dunno by NuShrike (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:00PMRe:I dunno by photon317 (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:57PMWrong. by abb3w (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:27PMRe:I dunno by ajs (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @05:19PMRe:I dunno by cpt kangarooski (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:04PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:I dunno by Anonymous Coward (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:28AMRe:I dunno by Mojojojo Monkey Inc. (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:03PMRe:I dunno by ajs (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @05:48PMRe:I dunno by Scroatzilla (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:51PMRe:I dunno by ajs (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @05:58PMRe:I dunno by Mac Degger (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @05:46PMRe:I dunno by ajs (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @06:15PM3 replies beneath your current threshold.Re:I dunno by LifesABeach (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @10:30AMRe:I dunno by jcr (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @11:45AMRe:I dunno by Scaba (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:33PMOnion motto by berbo (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:35AMRe:I dunno by JourneymanMereel (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @10:36AM modifying the seal (Score:5, Insightful) by gad_zuki! (70830) on Tuesday October 25, @10:43AM (#13871730) (http://everythingisnt.com/ | Last Journal: Sunday October 27, @12:59AM) If someone is stupid enough to be fooled by "Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack" or "Bush Disappointed To Learn Chinese Foreign Minister Doesn't Know Karate" then something tells me a slight modification to the presidential seal isnt going to make any difference. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:modifying the seal by julesh (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:28AMRe:modifying the seal by Gulthek (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:41AMRe:modifying the seal by julesh (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @11:52AMRe:modifying the seal by Frank T. Lofaro Jr. (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:19PMRe:modifying the seal by Mercano (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:38PMBeijing Evening News believed an Onion article by reg106 (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:55PMBull. by Eevee (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @08:00PMRe:modifying the seal by Kadmos (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @11:22PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:I dunno by Wonko (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:04AMdigital signatures? by Ohreally_factor (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @07:03PMRe:I dunno by wuice (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @11:31AMRe:I dunno by pi_rules (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:35AMRe:I dunno by crawling_chaos (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:13PMRe:I dunno by Proney (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @12:27PMRe:I dunno by Broken Bottle (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:17PMRe:I dunno by naoursla (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:48PMRe:I dunno by Leeesher (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @03:21PMSounds good. by abb3w (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:04PMRe:Sounds good. by Scaba (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:36PMRe:I dunno by Jerk City Troll (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @10:53PM3 replies beneath your current threshold.First amendment? by Alranor (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @09:33AMRe:First amendment? by julesh (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @09:37AM Re:First amendment? (Score:5, Insightful) by mungtor (306258) on Tuesday October 25, @09:56AM (#13871330) IANAL. But, if they took down the ads and got rid of the registrations then it would not be a commercial venture. However, since they are using the articles to drive traffic to the ads and they are being paid for ad placement, it _is_ a commercial venture.The redesign sucks anyway, I don't know who bothers reading it anymore. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:First amendment? by aukset (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @10:31AMRe:First amendment? by mungtor (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @11:11AMRe:First amendment? by bani (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @03:02PMRe:First amendment? by $lashdot (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @09:57AMRe:First amendment? by wren337 (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @10:00AMRe:First amendment? by Usagi_yo (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @10:27AM Re:First amendment? (Score:5, Informative) by roystgnr (4015) <`ude.saxetu.macit' `ta' `rngtsyor'> on Tuesday October 25, @10:33AM (#13871634) (http://slashdot.org/) Well they're hardly using it to promote a commercial venture,If that's true, they should drop the banner ads, and they should definitely stop intercepting hits to their home page to display interstitial commercials. Today the Onion is trying to get me to buy shoes, watch TV shows, eat fast food, report software pirates, wear jeans, buy belts, buy The Onion books, and go to the theater. I certainly hope they're getting paid for all that.and if you can find someone who reads one of these Onion pieces and believes it suggests presidential support,Okay, here you go:http://www.weeklyradioaddress.com/ [weeklyradioaddress.com]This is the page that made me think they may have a case. I too thought that this was just another attempt by the Whitehouse to bitchslap dissent, because I thought that they were just talking about the presidential seal graphics that might be in photos used in obvious parody articles about the President.But look at this page. There's no info about the Onion (you'd have to have started from an Onion page [theonion.com] to find out the connection), all the links go to official whitehouse.gov pages, the style is that of the official whitehouse.gov page, the server uses local copies of their potentially copyrighted graphics, and they've got a nearly identical (it says "Resident of the United States" now) copy of the Presidential Seal in the upper left corner: large enough to recognize, but small enough that the modification (even assuming it's always been modified) isn't obvious.Could someone listen to one of these addresses and not realize they were listening to a parody? I doubt it, but then again I knew they were an Onion parody before I ever went to the site, and I've only listened to one address so far. Since the Onion's humor is sometimes of the prescient "it's funny [theonion.com] cause it's true [theonion.com]" variety, I could definitely imagine there being addresses in there capable of fooling people.could you point them in my direction, as i've got this bridge i'd like to sell them.Well, I'm not buying, but there's no story so ridiculous you won't find someone to buy it. Even the Onion's regular articles have fooled the Bejing Evening News, MSNBC, and some fundamentalist Christian groups [wired.com] in the past. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:First amendment? by Frank T. Lofaro Jr. (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:28PMRe:First amendment? by porkface (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @05:54PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.I thought this was all public domain by sgant (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @09:33AM Re:I thought this was all public domain (Score:5, Informative) by dema (103780) on Tuesday October 25, @09:54AM (#13871301) There is a law regarding the seal: TITLE 18, 713 [cornell.edu].Whoever knowingly displays any printed or other likeness of the great seal of the United States, or of the seals of the President or the Vice President of the United States, or the seal of the United States Senate, or the seal of the United States House of Representatives, or the seal of the United States Congress, or any facsimile thereof, in, or in connection with, any advertisement, poster, circular, book, pamphlet, or other publication, public meeting, play, motion picture, telecast, or other production, or on any building, monument, or stationery, for the purpose of conveying, or in a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States or by any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both. (Emphasis mine)Seems like this wouldn't apply to The Onion as a satirical piece. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:I thought this was all public domain by Anonymous Brave Guy (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:10AM Re:I thought this was all public domain (Score:5, Informative) by Dachannien (617929) on Tuesday October 25, @11:48AM (#13872283) Seems like this wouldn't apply to The Onion as a satirical piece.Read on:(b) Whoever, except as authorized under regulations promulgated bythe President and published in the Federal Register, knowinglymanufactures, reproduces, sells, or purchases for resale, eitherseparately or appended to any article manufactured or sold, any likenessof the seals of the President or Vice President, or any substantial partthereof, except for manufacture or sale of the article for the officialuse of the Government of the United States, shall be fined under thistitle or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.And those regulations were specified by Richard Nixon (later amended by Gerald Ford):http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/us c_sec_18_00000713----000-notes.html [cornell.edu]Ex. Ord. No. 11649. Regulations Governing Seals of President and Vice President of United StatesEx. Ord. No. 11649, Feb. 16, 1972, 37 F.R. 3625, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 11916, May 28, 1976, 41 F.R. 22031, provided:By virtue to the authority vested in me by section 713 (b) of title 18, United States Code, I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the use of the Seals of the President and the Vice President of the United States:Section 1. Except as otherwise provided by law, the knowing manufacture, reproduction, sale, or purchase for resale of the Seals or Coats of Arms of the President or the Vice President of the United States, or any likeness or substantial part thereof, shall be permitted only for the following uses:(a) Use by the President or Vice President of the United States;(b) Use in encyclopedias, dictionaries, books, journals, pamphlets, periodicals, or magazines incident to a description or history of seals, coats of arms, heraldry, or the Presidency or Vice Presidency;(c) Use in libraries, museums, or educational facilities incident to descriptions or exhibits relating to seals, coats of arms, heraldry, or the Presidency or Vice Presidency;(d) Use as an architectural embellishment in libraries, museums, or archives established to house the papers or effects of former Presidents or Vice Presidents;(e) Use on a monument to a former President or Vice President;(f) Use by way of photographic or electronic visual reproduction in pictures, moving pictures, or telecasts of bona fide news content;(g) Such other uses for exceptional historical, educational, or newsworthy purposes as may be authorized in writing by the Counsel to the President.Sec. 2. The manufacture, reproduction, sale, or purchase for resale, either separately or appended to any article manufactured or sold, of the Seals of the President or Vice President, or any likeness or substantial part thereof, except as provided in this Order or as otherwise provided by law, is prohibited.Richard Nixon. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:I thought this was all public domain by Dachannien (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @12:06PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by dema (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:11PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:I thought this was all public domain by Mercano (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:43PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by NuShrike (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @01:05PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by The Desert Palooka (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @09:55AM Re:I thought this was all public domain (Score:5, Insightful) by AKAImBatman (238306) * on Tuesday October 25, @09:56AM (#13871324) (http://akaimbatman.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Friday September 30, @08:23AM) Thought that the Presidential Seal was also in the public domain.Not really. Making fiction that includes references to a President either current or past is protected by the fact that the person is considered a "public figure", and has thus consented to having works made about them.The problem with the Presidential Seal is that it's intended to carry the full power and weight of the office of the President and is NOT allowed to be used for anything that the President's office does not directly stand behind.This "parody" thus places the President's office in a bit of a bind. It's not that they necessarily mind the parody, but they cannot have the seal used inappropriately, even if it seems harmless enough. Yet by requesting its removal, they look like the bad guys to the public.The best solution I can think of is that the Onion should develop a "fake" seal that conveys the fact that it's fake in some way, shape, or form. In that way they would also parody the seal along with the President himself. This would be covered by fair use, and would not cause any confusion with the real seal. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:I thought this was all public domain by Dirtside (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:15AMRe:I thought this was all public domain by AKAImBatman (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @11:33AMRe:I thought this was all public domain by Zathrus (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @11:45AMRe:I thought this was all public domain by AKAImBatman (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:52AMRe:I thought this was all public domain by Zathrus (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @12:39PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by AK Marc (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @01:39PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by Dirtside (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:30PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by AKAImBatman (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @06:14PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by Dirtside (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @08:25PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by AKAImBatman (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:55PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by ifwm (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @12:01PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by Dirtside (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @04:43PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by Salis (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:55AMRe:I thought this was all public domain by snwcrash (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @02:18PMRe:I thought this was all public domain by AKAImBatman (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @11:00AMRe:I thought this was all public domain by MacJedi (Score:3) Tuesday October 25, @11:14AM Re:I thought this was all public domain (Score:4, Informative) by AKAImBatman (238306) * on Tuesday October 25, @11:27AM (#13872084) (http://akaimbatman.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Friday September 30, @08:23AM) No, I'm paying attention just fine. I read the entire law [findlaw.com], unlike some people around here. Try section (b) on for size:(b) Whoever, except as authorized under regulations promulgated      by the President and published in the Federal Register, knowingly manufactures,      reproduces, sells, or purchases for resale, either      separately or appended to any article manufactured or sold, any      likeness of the seals of the President or Vice President, or any      substantial part thereof, except for manufacture or sale of the      article for the official use of the Government of the United      States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than      six months, or both.I will repeat myself. The Onion is WRONG. If they want to pursue this, it could become a matter of imprisionment for the Onion editors and/or writers. They do NOT want to mess with this. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:I thought this was all public domain by muellerr1 (Score:1) Tuesday October 25, @11:36AMRe:I thought this was all public domain by AKAImBatman (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @11:44AMRe:I thought this was all public domain by MacJedi (Score:2) Tuesday October 25, @02:19PM