Folding Forum

As stated by Dr. Pande here and proteneer here, permission is required to use the FAH logo. I was wondering where/who I would ask for permission to use this logo. Would a request go through this forum? or directly to someone (Joseph Coffland?)? Since the modification of this image is legal and the aforementioned logo could be derived from that image, is permission for use even required for that particular logo?

If necessary, I will provide an explanation of the planned use of the logo.

Thanks in advance!

The protein icon is considered a part of the fah imagery, similar to the project logo. Same permission is required, through Dr. Pande.

The only problem is that in the first link I provided, Dr. Pande stated that he is not authorized to grant permission for use of the FAH logos. The post is almost three years old so has something changed since then? If I must go through Stanford University for this, would Dr. Pande be the best to point me in the right direction? or is it a general "Contact Us" situation for Stanford? Is that a question that anyone here can answer?

Nothing has changed. But if anyone can point you to a contact inside Stanford, he is the person who would know in regards to fah intellectual property.

IMO, saying it's a complex legal problem is a polite way of saying "No."

Thanks for the help, 7im

compdewd wrote:Thanks for the help, 7im

I'm glad you brought this up compdewd. I would like a definite "Yes" or "No" answer as to what we may (and may not) use with respect to graphics. As referenced in this post, viewtopic.php?f=16&t=23324#p232716 I am holding off on printing 1,000 post-card-sized cards (encouraging donor participation) until I know exactly what is "legal" and what would be frowned upon - or worse. (I don't want to go to all the trouble and expense of getting cards printed only to receive a letter from Stanford's legal counsel informing me that I must cease and desist. I want to be clear about this before the first card is printed.)

I am in the process of arranging meetings here in my hometown with doctors, presidents of local caregiver support groups, (i.e. Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, AIDS Action Coalition et cetera), company executives, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of at least one student newspaper. (One of the individuals I intend to meet with is a doctor on the staff of a local biotechnology company. My sister, who has Parkinson's, has a personal relationship with this doctor. She is assisting me in arranging a meeting.) I would like very much for the card to include a colorful (attention grabbing) logo/graphic very similar - if not identical - to the graphic compdewd is using with his [online] avatar. If we could have a simple "Yes" or "No" answer to this question: Is it OK for us to use compdewd's color protein molecule - the one he's using with his avatar - in lieu of the Stanford FAH logo on a post card type document? Also, is it allowable to make explicit reference to Stanford University - and the Stanford Medical School - as I'm contemplating doing, or must we leave all explicit references to Stanford University (and the Stanford Medical School) off of any contemplated FAH promotional card or document? (What I'm really asking here is whether the card design I am contemplating [above] will cause any problems?)

I don't mean to be pushy or impolite, but I'm trying to make contact with people who could literally bring in hundreds (and possibly thousands) of new folders. Please tell us what we can (and can not) use with respect to a logo and what we may (or may not) state [on a promotional card or flyer] with respect to Stanford's intellectual property.

Alan C. Lawhon wrote:I would like a definite "Yes" or "No" answer as to what we may (and may not) use with respect to graphics.

Alan, there are many free, public-domain molecular images available on Wikipedia.
Here is one for oxalic acid:

Here is the Wikipedia page that confirms this image is in the public domain:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oxali ... 3D-vdW.png
From the above Wikipedia web page:

I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide.
In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so:
I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

This is only one of numerous free, public-domain molecular images available on Wikipedia. I thought this one looked suitable for your purpose, but you (or someone else here) may find something else that is more visually appealing.

I hope this helps!

art_l_j_PlanetAMD64 wrote:This is only one of numerous free, public-domain molecular images available on Wikipedia. I thought this one looked suitable for your purpose, but you (or someone else here) may find something else that is more visually appealing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Protein_fold.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Protein_folding.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:F@H_Logo_2012.png
are some others

Thanks, Jesse, these first two have the same "public domain" notice as the example I had above (oxalic acid):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Protein_fold.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Protein_folding.png


However, this one is different:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:F@H_Logo_2012.png
It has these two notices:
#1:

This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

#2:

This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information.

This work contains material which may be subject to trademark laws in one or more jurisdictions. Before using this content, please ensure that you have the right to use it under the laws which apply in the circumstances of your intended use. You are solely responsible for ensuring that you do not infringe the rights to this trademark. See our general disclaimer. The use of this trademark does not indicate endorsement of the holder by Wikimedia Commons or the Wikimedia Foundation, nor vice versa.

There is also this, which Alan should read from top to bottom:
Commons:Reusing content outside Wikimedia


There is this warning as well:

While the copyright and licensing information supplied for each image is believed to be accurate, the Wikimedia Foundation does not provide any warranty regarding the copyright status or correctness of licensing terms. If you decide to reuse files from Commons, you should verify the copyright status of each image just as you would when obtaining images from other sources.

Other restrictions may apply. These may include trademarks, patents, personality rights, moral rights, privacy rights, or any of the many other legal causes which are independent of copyright and vary greatly by jurisdiction.

Alan should do the research noted above, if he wanted to be sure that it was OK for him to use the third image (F@H_Logo_2012.png).

art_l_j_PlanetAMD64 wrote:Alan should do the research noted above, if he wanted to be sure that it was OK for him to use the third image (F@H_Logo_2012.png).

J. Coffland (V7/core/server developer) created that file in GIMP and then uploaded it.
Good catch, thanks.

Art, Jesse, compdewd:

After giving this further consideration, I might prefer to use this image:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Protein_folding.png

since this particular graphic is more indicative of what is actually occurring in the folding process, (i.e. the molecule starts off as an amino-acid chain and eventually winds up in its final three-dimensional conformation.) Also, by being able to supply a link to a graphic image, it should be easier for the card manufacturer/printer to incorporate that image into the card. Finally, and maybe most important of all, use of this graphic appears to avoid all the other [potential] "complications" of using the color graphic in compdewd's avatar.

I don't like "flying blind" like this where I have to guess as to what can - and can not - be used with respect to graphic images (and wording) within a proposed FAH promotional card design. (I'm not sure if I can use the words "Stanford University" and/or "Stanford Medical School" in my proposed card design without violating somebody's legal rights.) As far as I know, Stanford is a publicly supported institution (with taxpayers dollars) so there shouldn't be any question - in my mind - as to whether the words "Stanford" and/or "Stanford Medical School" can be used. However, I'm not a lawyer and somebody else pointed out that use of intellectual property is "complicated".

We're trying to do something positive here - come up with a "simple" (attention grabbing) card that will recruit new folders. (Isn't that what everybody wants?) I don't want to distract Dr. Pande and Dr. Bowman from their work - because what they are doing is important - but answering questions like this is why you hire (and overpay) general counsels. The "in house lawyer" is paid to deal with these kind of questions. I just want some clear direction and I don't want it in legalese - I want it in clear unambiguous English language.

Alan here is an idea for ya use the pic ya want I do like it but here is what ya card should say...

Do you know anyone with Alzheimer's, Huntington's or cancer? Are you happy with the research going on with these or other diseases? Do you know you could help with out really doing anything?

Here's how go to http://folding.stanford.edu/English/HomePage and learn more and Hopefully help save a life.

just my thoughts on a card for ya