An organization called BiNet USA is claiming copyright ownership of the bisexual flag, and its President wants people to pay to use it.
I found my place in the LGBTQA community a long time ago, and while it isn’t uncommon for threats to emerge from the outside, it appears one has reared its head from within with dollars signs in their eyes.
In 1998, bi activist Michael Page created and unveiled the bisexual flag. He wrote, “The intent and purpose of the flag is to maximize bisexual pride and visibility. This bi flag is for free public and commercial use. As a result of volunteer work I was doing for BiNet USA, it occurred to me that if bi people were going to be visible at home, pride events and political rallies, we needed a Bi Pride Flag!”
You can read the rest of what he wrote here: link
This is a tweet from BiNet USA two years ago:
While BiNet USA has previously done tons of great work for the bisexual community, something appears to have happened that’s caused quite a stir.
Days ago, without consulting board members, BiNet USA’s president, Faith Cheltenham, tweeted out to a small creator who sold pride merch about their usage of the bi flag. (From my research, this creator uses the funds for activism)
They then went out to tweet this:
And then encouraged people to send them messages if they saw an unauthorized person using the flag:
There were also tweets like this, where the president called out others:
And then this:
As expected, the backlash on Twitter was loud, large, fierce and immediate, so much so that Bi Net USA deleted their Twitter page (which had around 13k+ followers). Their remaining account is a newly made one called the binetcollective, while the president continues tweeting on her personal Twitter, thefayth.
Many users have taken care to screenshot her posts as evidence.
Not only is she doubling down, but she has taken to doxxing/outing members who have stood up against her.
Here is one example. (A user who screenshot her post as evidence took the liberty to block out the name to protect the emailer’s identity, so as not to potentially out them):
I’m not entirely sure what she means by white bisexual supremacy, as race has nothing to do with why people are upset with her, and the subject of race does not come up in the email, which is a copy and paste email multiple people are sending:
That little black line is something Faith underlined herself.
Here is a statement from one of the board members:
Now, all that being said, can you copyright the bi flag?
According to copyright guidelines: no.
A simple, geometric design with three colors is not eligible for copyright.
Trademarks are another matter, but thus far there is no record of a copyright or trademark on the bisexual flag, so if the President is sending out C&D’s to stop people from using it, they could get themselves into a world of legal trouble and open themselves up to lawsuits.
While she claims to have been contact with Michael Page, saying he has given her the okay to do this, no one has heard from the man himself in years.
My take? Many small creators create pride merch, and that’s totally alright! It increases visibility. The bi flag, or any like flag, should not belong to any one person. It belongs to all it represents! One should not have to ask for permission to use it.
The narrative BiNet’s president is creating is dangerous, and there needs to be a serious conversation about what they are trying to do.
