Who wants to take civil disobedience to the FEDERAL level????

[highline]

Draw a picture of Smokey Bear!  Sell it to a friend for $1 !



18 USC 711

Whoever, except as authorized under rules and regulations issued by the Secretary of Agriculture after consultation with the Association of State Foresters and the Advertising Council, knowingly and for profit manufactures, reproduces, or uses the character "Smokey Bear", originated by the Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Association of State Foresters and the Advertising Council for use in public information concerning the prevention of forest fires, or any facsimile thereof, or the name "Smokey Bear" shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

SIX MONTHS in a cage!

[Kat Kanning]

Takin' on the big issues of the day.

[highline]

Takin' on the big issues of the day.

I was just trying to be funny and make people aware of another stupid law at the same time

[GraftonPond4Life]

Plant Marijuana on the interstate Medians.

[AntonLee]

I named my cat "Smokey the Bear" because of this law.  Ask Jaime.

Of course now he's just Smokey, Smokeman, Mr. Smokeyboy, Big Boy Smokey, Smokeman cometh, and Mr. Independent.

[Terror Australis]

Six months in the rape cage?

[DavidForthoffer]

Similar stupid laws concern the word "Olympics" and the phrase "Boy Scouts of America".

The U.S. Code makes it a crime to USE that word or phrase without the permission of the respective organizations.

I have never heard of that law being enforced.

I think their use should be governed by trademark law, not by a special U.S. Code.

[Tom Sawyer]

Guess that's why they didn't include him...

[Jim Johnson]

The government does not have copy right privileges, as shown by the Crash Test Dummies.
Tyco Toys turned the PSA characters into action figures which resulted in major TV networks not running the PSA's, that had the Crash Test Dummies them, for fear of boosting Tyco's sales.
The government claimed it had the rights to the characters... but they didn't.

[KBCraig]

I recall the White House threatening someone over use of the presidential seal, which is also protected by law. That was sometime in Bush I or Clinton, possibly very early in Bush II. I suspect it was Clinton.

Anyhoo, they were ridiculed and wound up dropping the issue.

Edit: found it. It was 2005, a lot more recent than I thought.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/business/24onion.html

[Kat Kanning]

Takin' on the big issues of the day.

I was just trying to be funny and make people aware of another stupid law at the same time

I shoulda put a smiley on that, since I was just kidding.  Sorry.

[Russell Kanning]

If I was artistic, I would make a smokey the bear poster that makes fun of the fire nazi culture in america and sell it to other liberty lovers.
If you use this idea, you owe me $.07 every time someone looks at the poster.