I'm a little peeved at the USMC

I have three different websites that I sell my military pride designs on. One of them is Zazzle.com. I was recently informed that all of my Marine Corps related designs were being removed as per request from the Marine Corps. It would be one thing if the design contained the official Marine Corps Seal, but none of them do.

"The USMC now requires anyone using the USMC EGA or the words USMC, Marines, U.S. Marine Corps and more to have a license. A $1,000 initial fee with a minimum payment to the USMC of $5,000 in royalties a year."

Apparently they "own" the words MARINES, MARINE CORPS, U.S. MARINE CORPS, and the initials USMC. They didn't even look at the designs before they were deleted. If a product was tagged with the word "marine" it was removed. One girl had a simply design with two hearts and a yellow ribbon removed. No mention of the Marine Corps whatsoever! As for things that are tagged "marine", what if I was referring to marine life, as in dolphins and whales? In reading the message boards over at Zazzle, this has affected a lot of people and everyone is up in arms over it. Supposedly Cafepress is next, and the Navy will also be enforcing the same regulations.

First of all, the military is run on tax dollars. The military is not a private individual or a corporation. Salaries, benefits, pensions, etc. are provided by the taxpaying citizens of the U.S. They are not private, they are public. They obviously have proprietary and security interests in regard to their logos and symbols, and there are rules governing such things. But for them to own the words "marine" or "army"? As one poster in the Zazzle forum states, "There are a lot of armies in the world. Can the US military take down all designs with that word in the tags?"

Second, wouldn't the money they are spending to have government employess scour the web in search of items containing the letters USMC be better spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

I support the military. I served four years in the military and continue to serve as a Navy wife, but their impracticalities never cease to amaze me.

In conclusion, here are some of my favorite quotes from the Zazzle discussion board:

"Yeah, it's sad that one can't even express pride and appreciation for the military. I'm retired Air Force and I always assumed that, since they military in general was a part of the government and we taxpayers pay for it, we could express our support as long as we weren't using personal images (ie pictures of specific soldiers, their families, etc,). I mean, I would assume I could create a shirt that says "Go Supreme Court!" or "Go 39th Congressional District!" or something.... How can you "trademark" the Marines?

I can see it now-- military partnerships with other trademarked entities:
"The Navy, brought to you by Coca-Cola and your local Chevrolet Dealers."

I can't wait to see the new uniforms..." -dradcliffe


*image posted by Softproduct

"My family has served in Viet Nam, Desert Storm, and Iraq. Although we never considered ourselves a "military" family we've always tried to have some pride, and fealt what we were doing was necessary, but not always right.

When I returned from my overseas tour, I was spit on, called "baby killer" (not to mention a few others very nice names. I was even attacked by some "so called" peace demonstrators. I was refused employment because companies didn't hire "baby killers". My biggest disappointment through my military tours was the lack of support from our own government, and eventually the American people. I spent two years as a member of the honor guard burying "dead" from Viet Nam. It sucked, to say the least, but was my only way to show support for fellow servicemen and their families.

For the Marine Corps to trademark, then charge a large licensing fee for use, is totally irresponsible, lacking of forethought, and downright ignorance. In essence they are only increasing the possibility of lack of support for the military personnel who put their lives on the line every day.
I am appalled that they have done this to their own people. I've always asserted that they've never really given a "rats ***" about their own, and this just proves to me that I was right. Just another replacable number.
Maybe they will use the licensing fees to purchase the some of the equipment they were suppose to have when they first went into Iraq but didn't because they didn't have the funds for it.

It's a sad day knowing that I cannot make a bumper sticker or something else with the phrase "Proud parent of a US Marine". My goal for my "military related" products was not money for me, but donated to various military support organizations. My pride for the Marines Corps and the idiotic bureaucracy that allowed them to do this is dwindling rapidly at this point." -Tom Purse