Group Claims Ownership Of Bi Pride Flag, Activists Are Outraged
May 11, 2020BiNet USA has attempted to claim legal ownership of the bisexual Pride flag through Twitter, stating it was it’s “copyright” owner. BiNet is a nonprofit organisation that advocates for people who are bisexual, pansexual, fluid, or otherwise attracted to more than one gender.
In the now-deleted tweets, BiNet called out both small and large companies that used the bisexual flag claiming its permission was required for the designer’s use although no proof of their claim has been provided.
The tweets have since been deleted and BiNet has not replied to any requests for comment. Faith Cheltenham, BiNet’s president, posted on BiNet’s Facebook group that there has been a lot of “misinformation” and that their intention was to address those making a profit with giving back. “If you’re selling stuff, are you giving back to community and how? Where do we see it?” she wrote.
BiNet’s tweets also targeted larger and smaller businesses, with the most shocking example being Jayne B. Shea. Shea is an author and advocate who runs a website selling bisexual - themed merchandise.
“It was just so strange and shocking because the first tweet had my handle in it, before people like Target,” she told ‘BuzzFeed News’. “They seem to believe that I’m making a lot of money off of this.”
Although BiNet claims that the “copyright of the flag is solely BiNet USA’s", what is widely known is that the bisexual pride flag was created in 1998 by activist Michael Page. On a webpage created by Page he states that the flag is “the only bisexual symbol not patented, trademarked or service marked.”
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