Every June, rainbow flags are displayed to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

The most common symbol of Pride Month, the rainbow striped flag was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker. It is in the public domain and has been adopted as the flag representing the entire LGBTQ+ community.

In 2018, graphic designer Daniel Quasar created the progression flag, which uses the traditional rainbow flag as a background and places a chevron on it with the colors of the transgender flag, as well as brown and black to represent the transgender flag. LGBTQ+ people of color and LGBTQ+ people. living with or deceased from AIDS.

But in a now-deleted viral tweet, one person claimed that the progress pride flag is copyrighted and the traditional flag is not, making the latter the best option for the community. Others who have made the claim say the copyright contradicts the Pride Flag’s traditional goal of belonging to all members of the LGBTQ+ community. Lots of answers in turn underline that the persons making the complaints were missing key context.

Is the Progress Pride Flag copyrighted?

The claim that the Progress Pride Flag is copyrighted requires context. It is copyrighted, but with a Creative Commons license that makes it free to use for non-commercial purposes and requires permission from the artist for commercial use.

The Progress Pride Flag was created in 2018 by Daniel Quasar and uses a design inspired by other recent reimaginings of the traditional pride flag. A 2017 flag made in Philadelphia added black and brown stripes to represent marginalized LGBTQ+ people of color and LGBTQ+ people living with or who have died of AIDS, and a 2018 Seattle flag included those colors plus the blue, white and blue stripes. transgender flag roses.

Quasar said he separated the extra colors from the stripes of the rainbow flag to retain the flag’s original meaning – Gilbert Baker assigned meaning to each color – and turned the extra colors into a chevron to show the movement towards the forward and the progress that still needs to be made.

After creating it, Quasar licensed the flag under a Creative Commons license which allows users to use the design for non-commercial purposes, according to Quasar’s Progress Initiative terms of use page.

Creative Commons licenses are designed to give the public permission to use a copyrighted work. The progress indicator is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This license prevents people from using the design to sell it for profit, requires credit to the creator when used, and requires people who remix or transform the design to license their work with the same restrictions and freedoms.

People wishing to use the flag for non-commercial purposes do not need to seek permission from Quasar before using it, says the Progress Initiative website.

“Really, I don’t mind at all that you want to do art with the design (please do it! I encourage you!) and I don’t even need you to do anything be it for me,” Quasar wrote. “If you want to credit me for using the flag, that’s cool but not required.”

Although terms of use generally state that people seeking to use the flag for profit must seek permission before using it, Quasar clarifies on the website that small businesses and large businesses are treated differently.

“If you are a small business or a small art creator who wants to profit from something using the Progress design, please do so!” Quasar writes. Quasar encourages small businesses to contact them if they have any questions or would like a free license to use the flag design.

Quasar tells large companies and creators to contact them via email before selling anything that uses the progress flag design.

“This is where permission is most sought so that the flag’s message is retained and support is given to the community it serves,” says Quasar.

In a marketing podcast called Input Doc, Quasar said they’ve “tiered” flag permissions in response to “rainbow capitalism” – what they describe as a trend where companies are exploiting rainbow imagery. -en-ciel to make a profit, then ignore the LGBTQ+ community once June is over.

“If you’re a small business or an artist who wants to do something you want to profit from, come talk to me, I’ll probably give you a free license,” Quasar said. “If a large, multi-million dollar company approached me and wanted to release 15 products to make money off the flag, I would want some kind of licensing agreement. If you’re going to make money off something that I created within my community, it’s only right that you give back not only to me as an artist, but also to the community itself.

Creative Commons prevents licensors, such as Quasar, from revoking legal license permissions. This means that anyone who already owns a flag file can continue to use it for non-commercial purposes even if Quasar decides they no longer want it in Creative Commons.

Permission to use the flag for commercial purposes comes from Quasar and is not part of the legal terms of their license. Quasar could choose to no longer allow people to sell products with the flag design, although they cannot revoke licenses they have already granted. Quasar has given no indication that it plans to stop allowing small businesses and artists to sell leading progress products.

A number of products with progress flag designs are sold on Etsy, an online storefront where independent artists sell their work. Some of the products include a note on the store page stating that the sellers have a license to sell parts with the design, some include notes crediting Quasar for the design, and some items do not include a note about license or credit . DC Comics, Target, Spotify, and Lyft have all collaborated with Quasar to use the flag and adaptations, including the additions of the intersex flag and bisexual flaghas been created.

The traditional rainbow striped pride flag designed by Gilbert Baker is in the public domain. Baker fought an attempt by the Gay Community Center, where he created the flag, to copyright it, according to a blog post by intellectual property expert Natalie Bravo.

“Throughout his life he chose never to enforce his property under the United States Copyright Act of 1976,” Bravo said of Baker’s decision to keep the flag in the public domain. “Baker argued that the flag should be available for public use and owned by everyone.”

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