Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps Logo, Visual Image & Website Policy
Purpose
This policy was developed for the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps because the verbal, written, photographic, artistic, and audio-visual images representing the Corps are fundamentally linked to the public's perception of the organization and to its overall success.
The Bluecoats recognize the significant role that visual depictions of the Corps play in serving its public relations, souvenir sales, support, and recruitment needs and has developed these guidelines to facilitate consistent procedures for the appropriate use of the Corps' logo, images, messages, and descriptions.
The intent of this policy is to ensure that all imprinted items—drawn, printed, electronic, or web-based documents—and other visual representations identified with the Bluecoats:
- Present a consistent, professional, and constructive representation of the Corps;
- Accurately represent the past, present, and future integrity of the organization;
- Comply with all national, state, or local, legal and ethical standards, including laws and policies governing copyright, libel, sexual harassment, and other content related issues; and
- Meet the standards, practices, and policies of the Bluecoats, Drum Corps Midwest, or Drum Corps International, regarding the use of the Corps name and logo.
Souvenirs, Printed and Imprinted Items
All logos, graphics, photographs, and renderings of the Corps or its uniformed performing members are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws, and are the property of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps. All rights are reserved. Use of the Bluecoats logo and images without the expressed written permission of the Bluecoats is strictly prohibited.
The Bluecoats maintain exclusivity of their souvenir and logo imprinted merchandise. Independent production, exhibition, or merchandising of souvenir or promotional items bearing copyrighted Bluecoats images is subject to criminal liability and prosecution.
Requests for written permission to use the copyrighted logos and images of the Bluecoats may be addressed to the Board of Directors or to the Corps Executive Director.
Member created designs for section T-shirts, shorts, clothing, and other unofficial memorabilia items should comply with these guidelines; be pre-approved; and all production of said items be coordinated through the Bluecoats souvenir sales staff.
Official Bluecoats Website
The official Home Page of the Bluecoats on the World Wide Web is the document located at http://www.bluecoats.com
The Board of Directors, the Executive Director, and the Corps' webmaster share joint responsibility for the general appearance, content, maintenance, and updating of the official Bluecoats website. The Board of Directors shall maintain final responsibility for the resolution of any or all disputes related to website content and design.
Statement of Website Domain Name Ownership
The Bluecoats organization, not any individual, regardless of receipt for payment of domain name registration, shall remain the official owner of the domain name http://www.bluecoats.com and shall reserve the right to determine both the Administrative and Technical contacts for the purpose of domain name registration.
Definition of Official Communication
Material posted to the web page at http://www.bluecoats.com shall be considered official communication and must adhere to Corps publication policies if it meets all three of the following criteria:
- It appears on pages bearing the official Domain Name ( http://www.bluecoats.com ) of Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps;
- It is intended to convey a message to the public from the Corps as a whole, or from the officers, instructional staff, or other individuals of the organization who have been authorized to submit such messages for posting through the submission procedures described in this document; and
- It can be accessed by any member of the general public.
Unofficial Communication
The following are not considered official communications of the Bluecoats:
- Text, images and material appearing on personal web pages; or
- Material posted by individuals affiliated with the Corps on pages other than http://www.bluecoats.com that may include the Corps name and logo (used with permission) but whose primary focus is to represent subsections of the Corps and target their communication to those specific audiences.
Unofficial material is the responsibility of the individual posting the information. Portions of the Bluecoats Logo, Visual Image, and Web Site Policy may be applied as a criterion to unofficial websites prior to having their direct link posted on the official Bluecoats website. This safeguard is necessary because links between the Corps' official site and the "approved" unofficial site appear to be seamless to outside users.
Webmaster(s) and Web Authors
The webmaster shall be responsible for the operational and logistical activities required to maintain a continuous web presence for the Corps and shall maintain servers, hardware, and operating/authoring software, or shall develop partnerships with outside organizations for the provision of such services.
To ensure the accuracy of information, a consistent style and adherence to Corps web policies, only a limited number of individuals will be given read/write access to the web server files. These individuals (web authors) are responsible for:
- Creating and maintaining a consistency of style for all official communication;
- Working independently, or with Corps officers or staff to create and update official web pages;
- Working together with those submitting information, and reviewing all documents for accuracy and consistency of style;
- Placing completed and approved files on the web servers (where they will be available to the public); and
- Removing expired, excess, or offensive content from the website.
Individuals may be added to, or removed from, the approved read/write web authors list by the webmaster, The Board of Directors, or the Executive Director. The Executive Director and The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the appointment or removal of the webmaster.
Legal and Ethical Standards and Practices
Any information accessible through the Bluecoats website at http://www.bluecoats.com whether official or unofficial, must conform to legal and ethical standards, including laws and policies governing copyright, libel, sexual harassment, and other content related issues. Information distributed on the Corps website must be the intellectual property of the individuals submitting it and must not contain copyrighted material that has not been cleared by the copyright holder for distribution.
Copyright and Permission
All content included on the Bluecoats website is the property of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps, and is protected by US and international copyright laws. All rights are reserved. Materials copyrighted or trademarked by the Bluecoats, including, but not limited to, audio recordings, video recordings, logos, graphics, photographic images, print materials and service marks included on this site may not be used without expressed written permission from the Bluecoats. Text may be reprinted and distributed, but may not be altered. No graphics may be used without the permission of the Bluecoats.
The Bluecoats may grant permission to use images or materials featured on the Bluecoats website on a case-by-case basis. Requests for permission must be made in writing (or by e-mail) to the Corps webmaster and must include the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the individual responsible for maintaining the information on the unofficial site. The following disclaimer must be displayed on the homepage of an unofficial site using copyrighted items:
Some copyrighted materials on this site are used with permission of the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps. This site is not officially endorsed by or affiliated with the Bluecoats. Please visit the Official Bluecoats website at http://www.bluecoats.com
All original materials must be given appropriate credit. Video or still images must be credited to the photographer or video producer prior to publication.
Web Policy Updates
The Bluecoats Board of Directors shall review this policy on an annual basis and recommend changes if warranted.
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