View source for BDSM Emblem

The '''BDSM Emblem''' was created after
discussions on an AOL message board:
Quagmyr proposed a 
[http://members.aol.com/quagmyr/emblem.htm 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.
[[Image:Trans6g.gif|The BDSM Logo|right]]
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 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==

* [http://members.aol.com/quagmyr/emblem.htm Quagmyr's BDSM Emblem website]
* [http://www.atruerose.com/rose/bdsmsymbol/myth.htm Copyright of the BDSM emblem is disputed]
* [http://www.bdsmrights.com/flag.html BDSM Rights Flag]

[[Category:History]]
[[Category:BDSM]]