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The parody shirt the NSA doesn’t want you to wear
- RexRollman 13y agoLove the design of that logo.
- asiekierka 13y agoJust call it the National Ststorm Agency. Or something.
- chris_wot 13y agoWhat, you can't use the letters NSA? You must be joking.
- cbg0 13y agoThere's an ellipsis at the start of that, here's what the whole text looks like: > SEC. 15. ø50 U.S.C. 3613¿ (a) No person may, except with the written permission of the Director of the National Security Agency, knowingly use the words ‘‘National Security Agency’’, the initials ‘‘NSA’’, the seal of the National Security Agency, or any colorable imitation of such words, initials, or seal in connection with any merchandise, impersonation, solicitation, or commercial activity in a manner reasonably calculated to convey the impression that such use is approved, endorsed, or authorized by the National Security Agency
- gradys 13y ago>... in a manner reasonably calculated to convey that such use is approved, endorsed, or authorized by the National Security Agency. Hmm.
- chris_wot 13y agoThen it doesn't relate to this product then. In no way would anyone reasonably think that such a parody is endorsed, approved or authorized by the NSA.
- devx 13y agoNSA is on a power trip. They've changed even the relevance of the word "relevant", in their justification for spying on everyone. They'll be using any justification to further their goals, no matter how crazy it sounds. They only only a few will call their bluff, and are using it as scare tactic.
- mhurron 13y agoWrong part of the government out of control. As someone else pointed out, Zazzle is most likely more scared of the lawsuit that may or may not come from this. If the NSA had an issue with it, CafePress wouldn't be selling the same shirt.
- bo1024 13y agoNot sure about trademark law, but copyright law in the US has fair use provisions under which this would definitely fall (parody). (Edit: I guess maybe the gov's laws about the NSA in particular supersede this?)
- jccooper 13y agoFederal government entities cannot copyright, everything they produce is public domain. They can hold trademark, but usually do not since they are not trading anything. USPS is a rare exception. NSA of couse has no goods or services. Thus the need for a specific law, as cited, to act in stead of the more familiar protections. Which law, it must be said, seems quite reasonably narrow, and should allow parody amongst other uses.
- w4rh4wk5 13y agoi'm probably going to print this on a t-shirt anyway just for fun... Wondering what will happen when trying to enter USA while wearing that shirt - they will probably investigate my "resource processing system's output port"
- Qantourisc 13y agoLogo looks like a near-copy paste. Reprint with just the letters ?
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago"Peeping While You're Sleeping" ? The text puts it firmly in the realm of parody.
- smtddr 13y agohttp://www.cafepress.com/mf/78962042/the-nsa_tshirt http://www.cafepress.com/mf/78962042/the-nsa_tshirt I just ordered it. Done & Done. Also, cafepress apparently doesn't make it clear until checkout but you can order with your Amazon account so you don't have to make a new account on cafepress. I don't like entering my CC info on a bunch of sites so I've been avoiding Cafepress until this T-shirt just made me cave in. Now I find out that I never needed to make a new account...
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- peterkelly 13y agoNSA asking for it to be taken off the site is probably the best thing that could happen for publicity. I really want to wear this shirt while going through airport security the next time I visit the US :)
- peterkelly 13y agoActually, on second thought, I don't.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y agoI used to wear a t-shirt with the TIA "Total Information Awareness" all-seeing eye logo on the front, and the slogan "Be A Good American. Don't Ask Questions." on the back, when I traveled. It was sometimes good for a few laughs with foreign border agents; but on the US side, never even so much as a smile. OTOH, I never got singled out for "extra screening" because of it (as far as I can tell); but that seems to be more common these days. TBH, if I thought such a weak form of protest would really draw a response from TSA agents, I am pretty sure I would wear it. Maybe that's part of the reason I avoid flying these days.
- Corrado 13y agoHere's a link to the designers official shop. It has more things that just the shirt. http://www.cafepress.com/libertymaniacs/10128143 http://www.cafepress.com/libertymaniacs/10128143
- praptak 13y agoA non-story with a linkbait title. Zazzle got scared of a design using the NSA logo. No proof whatsoever for NSA having been involved in this.
- einhverfr 13y agoTheir statement seems to confirm it though.
- praptak 13y agoTheir statement is a generic "you can't use our logo because of this law" (exactly what you'd expect from a government agency.) And their denied any involvement in this particular case (ditto.)
- mkenyon 13y agoIt is not protected under that law. Satire is most certainly allowed (and not just under First Amendment rights). The FBI tried to remove its seal from Wikipedia[0] and similarly miscited the appropriate law. Sec. 15. (a) No person may, except with the written permission of the Director of the National Security Agency, knowingly use the words 'National Security Agency', the initials 'NSA', the seal of the National Security Agency, or any colorable imitation of such words, initials, or seal in connection with any merchandise, impersonation, solicitation, or commercial activity in a manner reasonably calculated to convey the impression that such use is approved, endorsed, or authorized by the National Security Agency. It is that last bit that matters here. [0] http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20012575-93.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20012575-93.html
- diminoten 13y agoSure, that's an arguable defense, but it's not like they're wrong in what they said. You have to go to court to say, "fair use!"
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- Nate75Sanders 13y agoHmm, it appears to me that the NSA misquoted the law in that article when they sent a message to The Daily Dot. From http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/nsaact1959.htm http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/nsaact1959.htm : Sec. 15. (a) No person may, except with the written permission of the Director of the National Security Agency, knowingly use the words 'National Security Agency', the initials 'NSA', the seal of the National Security Agency, or any colorable imitation of such words, initials, or seal in connection with any merchandise, impersonation, solicitation, or commercial activity in a manner reasonably calculated to convey the impression that such use is approved, endorsed, or authorized by the National Security Agency. (emphasis mine) That changes things quite a bit. No reasonable person would believe the NSA authorized this.
- einhverfr 13y agoI dunno. "The only part of the government that actually listens" sounds pretty positive.....
- MisterWebz 13y agoDoes "Peeping while you're sleeping" sound like something the NSA would have authorized?
- zanny 13y agoWell, they do it, and have publically admitted to it. So they internally authorized it =P
- peterkelly 13y agoIt definitely sounds like something they would authorise. Just not something they would advertise ;)
- Tloewald 13y agoSeems unconstitutional to me. You can commercially publish topless photos of actresses vacationing on a private beach, and that's protected by the first amendment. If the argument is trademark infringement then why a special law?
- einhverfr 13y agoThe NSA's statement is really pretty chilling when you think about it. The irony here is that "the government doesn't want you to wear this" is a great advertising message and the NSA in their statement has helped that along a great deal.
- waffle_ss 13y agoI had the same exact thing happen to me with Zazzle back in June when I created two t-shirt designs using the EFF parody logo. I had a bit of back-and-forth with the Zazzle reps who just kept sending me canned responses. Luckily I was able to get the shirt shipped to me before they yanked it: http://imgur.com/a/OOvwY#0 http://imgur.com/a/OOvwY#0
- fnordfnordfnord 13y agoIs that logo screened on there crooked?
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- forgotAgain 13y agoGiven the current situation, how can this usage not be covered by free speech?
- bediger4000 13y agoThat's what I thought, too. Using "The NSA" in the way the shirt does is making a political statement, which is protected by the USA's First Amendment. It's one of the few rights that the USA Supreme Court has defended zealously. Supposing that "The NSA" is some kind of "intellectual property", using the phrase as that tee shirt does is almost certainly fair use. This is a lot less certain, as you'd have to go to court, spend lots of money, and admit to infringing to plead fair use, so it's probably not worth the effort.
- super-serial 13y agoZazzle took down almost every parody shirt I've ever made - even ones with custom artwork. For example I made a "Yo Bama Bama" shirt that had custom art of Obama wearing a Yo Gabba Gabba hat with various phrases... that was taken down. Custom artwork of video game characters saying stupid things... always taken down. Anything that referenced some sci-fi movie or TV show was always taken down. I'm surprised the NSA even had to complain. Zazzle preemptively stifles free speech when it's obvious it's a parody before anyone complains. Zazzle is so bad about this - I don't use them for anything anymore.
- stephen_g 13y agoWell, technically you have no right to or expectation of free speech on Zazzle. I'm sure it's in Zazzle's terms of service that they can reject any product submitted to the site for any reason. I don't like, but it's their site, they can do that if they want. They're probably just being overly risk averse to try and avoid lawsuits.
- spodek 13y ago> "... At any time that NSA is made aware that the NSA Seal is being used without our permission, we will take appropriate actions." The NSA has no idea what "appropriate actions" means.
- smacktoward 13y agoOf course they don't. That information is classified!
- sramsay 13y agoThe same is true of the Presidential Seal, under 18 USC 713 of the United States Code. The NSA might be a little too aggressive here (satire is protected speech under the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution), but I can understand the desire to prohibit use of U.S. agency seals to falsely represent the offices to which they're attached. This is not the same as someone using the FedEx or the Starbucks logo . . .
- sampo 13y agoI like this parody logo more http://images.intomobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/nsa-spy650.jpg http://images.intomobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/nsa-...
- ck2 13y agoThe NSA is more than happy at the thought of people giving up for a t-shirt and becoming completely complacent with the idea of them listening and watching everything you are doing. If a t-shirt is your idea of protesting, well it's no wonder we have the TSA and the NSA.
- dhimes 13y agoThe t-shirt is a conversation starter, not a protest. Furthermore, he's using it to crowd-fund his defence. You can support it here: http://www.tfund.com/nsashirt http://www.tfund.com/nsashirt
- monsterix 13y ago> Public Law 86-36, which states that it is not permitted for “…any person to use the initials ‘NSA,’ the words ‘National Security Agency’. So does this mean using the acronym 'NSA' and the words ‘National Security Agency’ on the web without their written consent counts as a felony when they pick you up? Will they apply additional 10 years to imprisonment statement? Making room for the scapegoat?