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"One Cent Now" Campaign Slapped in the Face

Posted by Jerrold Litwinenko / October 5, 2007

17 Comments

20071005_noncents.jpg
Oh, the irony!

Mayor Miller's "One Cent Now" campaign, which aims to rally support and get more money for cities from higher levels of government appears to have made one critical error - they didn't get proper authorization from the Royal Canadian Mint to use the image of the penny.

While the mint likely has a strong legal case in this matter, is it the right thing for them to do considering the circumstances? Should they be making an example of Miller's campaign by going for the jugular, or should they show leniency?

It's probably too late to snuff this one out.

Discussion

17 Comments

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Ben / October 5, 2007 at 12:21 pm
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sigh. How does the mint own the image of the penny? Should it not in be some sort of a public trust, and free for all Canadians to use as they will? This is ridiculous.

We need a Creative Commons licensed penny. :)
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Michael / October 5, 2007 at 12:26 pm
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I guess they control the image so it can't be used in lewd or salacious ways.. Like the loonie getting it on with the toonie. And the Queen watching the action.
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Angie / October 5, 2007 at 12:39 pm
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You know, if all of these government groups, individuals, politicians, et cetera actually stopped bitching at each other like teen girls over the last tube of lipstick we might actually, you know, get shit done. Cripes.
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Gloria / October 5, 2007 at 01:05 pm
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Michael: Hott.
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Jerrold / October 5, 2007 at 01:15 pm
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Michael: I dare you! :P
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Matt / October 5, 2007 at 01:18 pm
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Let's just wait a hundred years till the coins enters the public domain. Then we can have the moose screw the beaver with the loons and bears watching.
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Mark Dowling / October 5, 2007 at 01:25 pm
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Another "Miller Toonie" that costs us thousands...
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SassAFrass / October 5, 2007 at 02:21 pm
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I absolutely think he deserves to be sued and punished. The Mint owns the image, so Miller should have investigated that issue a bit further.
The lawsuit is not the issue, the wasted tax payer's money is the point. A ridiculous campaign to begin with, Miller should focus more time and energy on BUDGETING the money has been given, and spend less time bitching about getting more money from Ottawa. I'm so SICK of this issue and I live in Toronto!!
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Dave / October 5, 2007 at 02:31 pm
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What idiocy.... this would be considered Fair Use in some other civilized countries. Maybe a house cleaning is required at the mint. They seem to be too busy making goofy new designs for quarters instead of understanding their core purpose.


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Michael / October 5, 2007 at 02:52 pm
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If only I was competent with photoshop!
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sookie / October 5, 2007 at 06:50 pm
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it's not fair use because it's advertising. you'd be surprised by what is protected by copyright. for example i can't sell photos of the CN Tower if that's the only subject in the image. ditto the empire state or eiffel tower at night (its lighting design is protected), as well as US currency.
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Jerrold / October 5, 2007 at 07:00 pm
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@Michael: use MS Paint, it'll be even funnier!
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Sean / October 5, 2007 at 07:24 pm
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Holy shit... they want $48,000!
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sm / October 6, 2007 at 06:04 pm
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sookie: I call bullshit on your CN Tower copyright claim. Can I have a citation, please?
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Jerrold / October 6, 2007 at 06:19 pm
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"CN Tower (Toronto)

The CN Tower in Toronto requires a property release for commercial photography.

Allowed: Cityscapes including the CN Tower ARE permitted.
Note: If the CN Tower IS NOT the primary subject of the photo, it is permitted for use in royalty-free stock imagery."

source: http://www.imagecatalog.com/copyright_and_trademark.php#CN
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HenKaiPan / October 14, 2007 at 04:30 am
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Everyone who cares about the economic health of Toronto, and by extension the rest of Canada, should take a moment to register their discontent with those pigs via the 'contact us' button on their website [ www.mint.ca ]. Pigs!
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Sean Galbraith / January 11, 2008 at 01:22 pm
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Update: The Mint has withdrawl its invoice to the City for the use of the penny. They reached an agreement back in December it seems.
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