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Introducing the A Sense of Color Shirts shop

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JeffreyH

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Are you looking for a T-shirt, hat, or button that will help you meet new friends and kindred spirits who share your values? Want to put a smile on a friend's face with a surprise gift?

Then come visit this newly remodeled online shop that offers some of the boldest and most colorful Who is John Galt, A is A, and Follow Reason shirts ever produced along with coffee mugs, buttons, license plate frames, bumper stickers, and more.

Introducing the A Sense of Color Shirts shop:

http://www.CafePress.com/SenseOfColor

You won't find any small, boring black text here. Rather, you'll see upbeat, colorful designs that will call out to others in a crowd. Most of the apparel items have separate designs on both the front and the back. So slip into one of these shirts, don a cap, or pin a button to your jacket and dramatically increase your chances of discovering undercover Objectivists, smiles, and new friends in unexpected places.

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Would this be considered an intellectual property violation or trademark/copyright violation? We obviously all know that John Galt's existence and the very phrase plastered all over this merch (Who is John Galt?) came from another person's work (obviously Ayn Rands).

Even if it isn't illigal, you would be directly profitting from another person's intellectual property (the phrase "who is John Galt?") without their consent.

I guess coming up with your own product is a bit too difficult nowadays. Why not bum slogans or intellectual products from your betters, hmmm?

If there was a texbook example of second-handing I think this would be it.

(my problem is with your "Who is John Galt?" merch not the bland and uninspiring "follow reason" that you probably came up with yourself or the A is A that Aristotle came up with)

I would expect this on another forum, not this one.

[edit] = In case anyone has any doubts as to how Leonard Peikoff (Miss Rand's intellectual and legal heir) stands on issues concerning violations of Ayn Rand's intellectual products, he sued a rock band called "Atlas Shrugged" for intellectual property violation. With pretty damn good reason, I might add.

What is with all of these people on Cafe Press trying to sell other people's ideas? Go down one post and you will find ANOTHER vendor for this junk.

Edited by Tryptonique
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Why does it matter where something was made?

Because things like pharmeceuticals, lumber, and other natural resources (I'm not sure about textiles) are subsidized by many socialist governments. This allows them to undercut laissez-fair markets in many cases because their prices are cheaper. This also means that buying such products in turn supports anti-capitalist regimes, foreign policies, and other nasty things that a lot of people just personally don't want to endorse.

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I had never imagined that this could cause a problem. I thought of it benevolently and enthusiastically as providing a way for people to express their admiration for Rand's ideas and also as a way for people to strike up conversation and to meet other Rand fans, in addition to advertising the philosophy. I have enjoyed working with text and making it attractive ever since I started designing flyers for campus clubs years ago, and when I discovered the opportunity to be able to offer colorful and attractive designs that people would display proudly and that would help raise Objectivism's profile, I was thrilled. However, I understand why this could be a problem and why some may find it offensive, especially if it truly runs counter to Rand's wishes, as I just read in an older forum thread. So, as a matter of principle, I have decided to remove all of it.

It is a very difficult undertaking to "murder one's children", but it is done. All of the allegedly offensive images have been deleted from the account. However, upon refreshing this page, sadly, it looks as though some of the processed images might be archived on the Cafepress server, but they are certainly unavailable absent the exact URL to the images and they are no longer available for sale. Hopefully they will get deleted soon.

Regarding "A is A" and "Follow Reason" designs, it is difficult to be creative, in terms of words, when your intent is for other people to recognize a phrase and associate it with an interest in a specific subject. That basically limits us to "A is A" (most recognizable), "Follow Reason" (iffy), "Selfishness is a Virtue" (iffy), "Existence Exists" (iffy), "Reason is man's means of survival" (iffy), "Existence Exists" (iffy), "Capitalism is the MORAL Ideal" (iffy). [Edit]

I look forward to offering the most colorful and attractive "A is A" and "Follow Reason" designs available, in addition to whatever else I might think of. If anyone has any ideas for phrases that Objectivists might enjoy having on a t-shirt, I'm open to suggestions.

Edited by JeffreyH
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I had never imagined that this could cause a problem. I thought of it benevolently and enthusiastically as providing a way for people to express their admiration for Rand's ideas and also as a way for people to strike up conversation and to meet other Rand fans, in addition to advertising the philosophy. I have enjoyed working with text and making it attractive ever since I started designing flyers for campus clubs years ago, and when I discovered the opportunity to be able to offer colorful and attractive designs that people would display proudly and that would help raise Objectivism's profile, I was thrilled.
Your motives were good. I can't think of anyone on this site who WOULDN'T want to help spread Objectivism, raise it's profile, and have an easy way to identify other lovers of reason/rational thought.

ARI does so many wonderful things to help that cause. On campus Objectivist clubs, student leaders now have access to free "Who is John Galt?" buttons, flyers, and pamphlets regarding Miss Rand's work. They also are helping to give English teachers free classroom sets of The Fountainhead so they can start teaching Ayn Rand in the classroom. If you want to spread merch like that, you should email Leonard Peikoff and see if you can get permission or if there is some way that they might incorporate new merch ideas in the Ayn Rand Bookstore on www.aynrand.org

It is a very difficult undertaking to "murder one's children", but it is done. All of the allegedly offensive images have been deleted from the account. However, upon refreshing this page, sadly, it looks as though some of the processed images might be archived on the Cafepress server, but they are certainly unavailable absent the exact URL to the images and they are no longer available for sale. Hopefully they will get deleted soon

See, what kind of angered me is that it isn't just one overzealous Objectivist selling this kind of stuff.

go to CafePress and just type in "John Galt" in the search bar. There is everything from bumper stickers, license plate frames, thongs, T-shirts, dog t-shirts, etc.

Regarding "A is A" and "Follow Reason" designs, it is difficult to be creative, in terms of words, when your intent is for other people to recognize a phrase and associate it with an interest in a specific subject.

Definitely agree with you. You are trying to tie together a philosophy that is based upon one person's groundbreaking ideas. Trying to do this in words that are more rofound than this groundbreaking philosopher is a difficult thing indeed, considering that she was such a brilliant writer.

I don't think your other designs totally suck...they just pale in comparison to Ayn Rand's own work. If you can come up with something better or something that is cool on it's own, I will be a customer in no time:).

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