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BDSM Dictionary : BDSM Emblem: history
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This entry is part of the BDSM Dictionary hosted by Informed Consent.
The BDSM Emblem was created after discussions on an AOL message board: Quagmyr proposed a design for a BDSM Emblem in 1995, originally inspired by the Roissy rings in the "Story of O", although he later decided the Roissy design had spirals rather than "teardrops." In fact the Triskelion is an ancient symbol used by many cultures, including Oriental variants with Ying-Yang style dots or eyes.
Quagmyr naturally realised it was impossible for him to copyright a design with thousands of years of history, and instead claims ownership of one very specific emblem: "The rims and spokes are of a color indicating metal. The rims and spokes are of uniform width with the arms rotating clockwise. The inner fields are black. The holes in the fields are truly holes and not dots."
He sells merchandise featuring the Emblem, and allows other people to use his specific emblem for "non-profit cultural, educational and artistic use within the BDSM community." However, written permission is required for any commercial use of the Emblem (including fund raising by non-profit BDSM organisations.)
It's probably due to these restrictions, at least in part, that many variants of the ancient triskelion have been used on BDSM websites and other media instead of Quagmyr's. So, unlike the Leather Pride Flag, no single colour scheme is universally used. Quagmyr's site includes a helpful page showing other triskelions and explaining how they differ from the design he claims rights over.
(At this point we are legally required to reproduce this copyright statement: "The attached image conatining the BDSM Emblem is copyright 1995 by Quagmyr@aol.com. It is freely available for all educational and non-commercial use within the BDSM community without charge.")
Under UK and German law, the legal status of his claim to copyright of the design is questionable. While he has copyright of the image file displayed on this page, if someone were to recreate the image and republish it then it is doubful that we would have any claim to the image.
Along with the Leather Pride Flag, the BDSM Emblem forms the basis of the BDSM Rights Flag which is free of copying restrictions.See also
(This entry in the BDSM Dictionary incorporates text from the BDSM Emblem article in Wipipedia.)
This entry is published under the terms of the GFDL. People with profiles on Informed Consent can improve this entry: see the BDSM Dictionary help page for details.
