Jared Moya
February 10th, 2006, 12:37 PM
The Canadian Red Cross is warning the video game industry that use of the humanitarian organization's famous emblem in simulated combat is illegal and may be eroding the "protective value'' of the symbol in real-life war zones.
The emblem appears on first-aid stations, medical kits or ambulances depicted in numerous computer battlefield scenarios and in some sports games. These Red Cross-emblazoned game features add realism to the action and provide renewed strength to weakened characters.
But David Pratt, the former federal defence minister who now works as director of international issues with the Ottawa-based disaster-relief agency, is urging software developers and video game distributors to voluntarily respect the Red Cross trademark in future products or face possible legal action.
"The fact that the Red Cross is also used in videos which contain strong language and violence is also of concern to us in that they directly conflict with the basic humanitarian principles espoused by the Red Cross movement,'' Pratt said in a Jan. 31 letter to a Vancouver law firm that represents several Canadian game developers. "The crux of the problem is that the misuse of the Red Cross in video games is not only in contravention of the law, it also encourages others to believe that the emblem of the Red Cross is `public property' and can be freely used by any organization or indeed for commercial purposes.''
READ ARTICLE (http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=388d6b05-1e55-4fc6-8f73-6e822e3db23f&k=18344)
The emblem appears on first-aid stations, medical kits or ambulances depicted in numerous computer battlefield scenarios and in some sports games. These Red Cross-emblazoned game features add realism to the action and provide renewed strength to weakened characters.
But David Pratt, the former federal defence minister who now works as director of international issues with the Ottawa-based disaster-relief agency, is urging software developers and video game distributors to voluntarily respect the Red Cross trademark in future products or face possible legal action.
"The fact that the Red Cross is also used in videos which contain strong language and violence is also of concern to us in that they directly conflict with the basic humanitarian principles espoused by the Red Cross movement,'' Pratt said in a Jan. 31 letter to a Vancouver law firm that represents several Canadian game developers. "The crux of the problem is that the misuse of the Red Cross in video games is not only in contravention of the law, it also encourages others to believe that the emblem of the Red Cross is `public property' and can be freely used by any organization or indeed for commercial purposes.''
READ ARTICLE (http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=388d6b05-1e55-4fc6-8f73-6e822e3db23f&k=18344)