COEXIST Button
or Button Magnet
Below is a discussion of the legal
controversy surrounding this design. This is followed by an
explanation of what the different symboIs mean.
As you may have noticed,
we sell a lot of "Coexist" designs on this site. There
is a reason for that: "Coexist" designs sell well in these
troubled times. Some of the "Coexist" designs we sell
(including this one) have been supplied to us by other companies. But a
few are our own unique creations.
You might think that a
"Coexist" design would encourage people to get along. We hope
that is true. But the sad fact is that there are various versions of
this design being sold and used in various ways, and there are
conflicting claims of ownership related to some of those designs. One
company has even been threatening to bring legal action against other
companies that try to sell Coexist designs.
Here is the story of this
controversy in a nutshell: In 2001 a relatively simple
"Coexist" design incorporating three religious symbols was
created by Piotr
Mlodozeniac, a Polish graphic designer, for a contest sponsored
by The
Museum on the Seam for Dialogue, Understanding, and Coexistence
in Jerusalem. The Museum has incorporated Mlodozeniac's design into a
traveling exhibit and also sells shirts, posters, etc. bearing the
design. The Museum claims exclusive ownership of the design.
But the Mlodozeniac design
has apparently been used extensively by others without permission. The
Museum on the Seam seems to take a very dim view of this, while
Mlodozeniac himself seems to take pride in some of the ways other people
have used his design. For instance, U2 has used the image in
concerts, which no doubt boosted interest in the design.
But Mlodozeniac was
dismayed to learn that a small Indiana T-shirt company called Coexist
LLP successfully trademarked his "Coexist" design in 2005. The
Indiana company subsequently brought a lawsuit against CafePress and
three other vendors who had been selling products bearing similar
"Coexist" designs.
You can read more about
the legal wrangling over various versions of the "Coexist"
design by visiting @U2.
In the winter of 2007-08,
Coexist LLP sent cease-and-desist letters to several sticker and T-shirt
companies demanding that they stop selling various "Coexist"
designs. The letter threatened legal action if these companies did not
comply. The letter was sent to some of our suppliers, and it
remains to be seen whether or not we will be able to continue buying
certain "Coexist" products from those suppliers.
CarryaBigSticker also received a copy of the
cease-and-desist letter (see text at right). We have chosen to ignore
the letter for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that,
contrary to the letter, we have never sold any "Coexist"
designs that are identical (or even very similar) to the trademark
registered by Coexist LLP. Also, we have never tried to pass off our
products as those of Coexist LLP. In other words, we are not using
"Coexist" designs as trademarks. We are selling an important
peace-related message, a message that has the full free-speech
protection of the First Amendment.
CarryaBigSticker is not
involved in any litigation related to the "Coexist" design.
We are hoping it stays that way. We feel the "Coexist" designs
that we sell are quite a bit different from the Coexist LLP trademark,
and therefore unlikely to be the target of litigation.
Despite the risk of
litigation, we want to help distribute a variety of
"Coexist" designs because we believe the concept of
coexistence is too important a concept to be distributed only by a few.
The concept belongs to all of us, and should be distributed by many.
Meanwhile, Coexist LLP recently petitioned the U.S.
Patent and Trademark office to expand the use of its trademark to other
products. Their original trademark application expressed the intention
to use the mark only on apparel. Their latest applications would expand
their use to stickers and posters, as well as jewelry. If these
applications go unopposed, Coexist LLP will be in an even stronger
position to attempt to limit the use of Coexist designs on stickers,
posters and jewelry.
Dan R. Frazier
If you would like
to let Coexist LLP know how much goodwill they are generating by
threatening to bring legal action against other companies selling
original Coexist designs, you can e-mail Christopher Tierney, one of the
owners of Coexist LLP:
Chris (at)
CoexistOnline (dot) com
What the Different Symbols Mean:
This shirt includes various religious symbols. The links
below will take you to other Web sites that feature detailed information
about the symbols. Beginning at the top, and continuing clockwise:
Wiccan
Pentacle
Dharmacakra
Jewish
Star of David
Aum
Flaming
Chalice
Yin-Yang
Christian
Cross
Islamic
Star and Crescent
