[Robotgroup] Robot Group Logo.. is it ours??

[Glenn]

A little info about the RG logo ...

Over 10 years ago I came up with the idea for the RG logo.
I worked with Norm, who took my description and drew several variations 
of the logo.

I picked one, paid him a token fee and donated the logo to The Robot 
Group Inc.
The artwork on the early T-shirts we had made was marked with a 
copyright for
The Robot Group Inc.

The logo is a variation on the "Vitruvian Man" drawn by Leonardo Da 
Vinci about 1492.

See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_man

for "prior art".

Leonardo was making notes on the work of the Roman architect Vitruvis, 
so his work was
somewhat derivative as well.  Vitruvis lived about 70 - 25 BC.  His work 
may not have been
completely original either, as the divine proportion had been used by 
the Greeks, and the Romans
ripped off a lot of stuff from the Greeks - more prior art.

One of the points that Vitruvis was trying to make was that, to be 
pleasing to humans, buildings
should incorporate the same ratios and proportions of the human body, in 
his opinion.

Leonardo was a perfect example of the combination of art and 
technology.  As he did his apprenticeship
in an art studio/shop, he started out by collecting the materials needed 
to make paints and all the other
tools and materials used by artist of his time.  He had to master all 
the technical side of doing art before
becoming a master artist - ace the technical stuff, then move on from 
there. 

The idea that art and technology are on opposite ends of some scale, is 
a popular idea with some,
that fail to grasp the big picture.

With the RG logo, the idea was to sharpen the focus on the harmony 
between art and technology,
that has always been a core concept of the group.

It is very difficult to copyright artwork.  If the image is altered, in 
any way, then it becomes more
difficult to win a fight in U.S. courts.  I have donated about $5,000.00 
in lawyer fees, over the years,
for The Robot Group Inc.  A lawyer can answer questions, and provide 
informed opinions, but cannot
ever really guarantee what a court will decide - and it is an expensive 
game to play.  It would be trivial to
spend > $20,000.00 just to give it a try in legally defending the logo.  
You can ask about the difference
between a registered trademark and a logo too - take something to drink 
and find a comfortable chair.

I understand wanting to protect the logo.  I truly appreciate the idea.  
The group really does not have
the funds to support a real legal challenge, unfortunately.

Only big companies that invest millions of dollars in promoting their 
logos or trademarks, can justify the expense of
defending them.

I suggest a nice note to those who honor Leonardo and Vitruvis, and 
spend the money on robots, or beer.

Something much more interesting - to some, may be a type of "Easter Egg" 
in the RG logo.

You see, anyone that does a variation on Leonardo's Vitruvian Man, must 
make a key decision -
what do you do about the penis?  Leo was an artist, and drew it as he 
saw it - uncircumcised and all.

Norm and I discussed a Vitruvian watch face, using the arms for minutes 
and hours, and the more central
"limb", as a second hand.  Anyone for a RG analogue watch? A real weenie 
flipper.

So invite you to take a close look at the RG logo to see the solution 
Norm and I settled on -
then take a look at all the other variations of the Vitruvian Man you 
can find - and see what
decisions others made.

I remember seeing an IEEE Visa card with a version of the drawing - 
minus penis... what does it all mean?

Happy egg hunting!

-Glenn



brooksdesign wrote:
> I ran into Norm at the HEB a while back and have his # somewhere ,I'll look for it and forward it to Mike later .
> -brooks
>
> -----Original Message-----
>   
>> From: vkonradi <vkonradi at swbell.net>
>> Sent: Sep 1, 2006 2:52 PM
>> To: Austin Robotgroup Mailing List <robotgroup at puremagic.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Robotgroup] Robot Group Logo.. is it ours??
>>
>> I recall that Glenn thought up the logo theme and commissioned Norm to draw it.  Its first usage was probably on the Pulse letterhead.
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Vern Graner <vern at txis.com>
>> To: vkonradi <vkonradi at swbell.net>; Austin Robotgroup Mailing List <robotgroup at puremagic.com>
>> Sent: Friday, September 1, 2006 12:46:27 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Robotgroup] Robot Group Logo.. is it ours??
>>
>>
>> vkonradi wrote:
>>     
>>> Oh, and given how much the RG logo is a derivative work in itself, would it really be appropriate to argue?
>>>       
>> My concern is that someone might come after *us*, so in order to make 
>> sure the logo is "ours" did we need to take any steps to insure no one 
>> could take it from us.
>>
>> I still don't know *exactly* who made the logo, how it was made, what 
>> copyrights (if any) pertain to it... I'm curious to know if it *really* 
>> ours...?
>>
>> Vern
>>
>> -- 
>> Vern Graner CNE/CNA/SSE    | "If the network is down, then you're
>> Senior Systems Engineer    | obviously incompetent so why are we
>> Texas Information Services | paying you? Of course, if the network
>> http://www.txis.com        | is up, then we obviously don't need
>> Austin Office 512 328-8947 | you, so why are we paying you?" ©VLG
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Robotgroup mailing list
>> Robotgroup at puremagic.com
>> http://lists.puremagic.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/robotgroup
>>     
>
>
> ________________________________________
> PeoplePC Online
> A better way to Internet
> http://www.peoplepc.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Robotgroup mailing list
> Robotgroup at puremagic.com
> http://lists.puremagic.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/robotgroup
>
>
>
>