Leo now uses a splash screen: non-copyrighted image needed

[Paul S. Wilson]

 For over 10 years knowingly using a copyrighted image. Shameful.

 https://groups.google.com/g/leo-editor/c/2aVaxxXVHPE 

[Edward K. Ream]

On Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 1:26:39 PM UTC-6 Paul wrote:

> For over 10 years knowingly using a copyrighted image. Shameful.

Shameful? No. Knowingly? No. For over ten years? No.

Years ago, we discussed the source and license of the Lion icon. We reached no firm conclusions, and I forgot all about the matter.

Recently, jkn pointed out the (faint!) watermark and reminded me of his concerns about the Lion's license. I created #3062 without delay.

Several pages on the dreamscape site relate to licensing:

The Legal/Terms of Use page is legalese. Happily, other explanations are easier to understand!

The Exclusive Use Rights page indicates that nobody has exclusive rights to the Lion icon. Otherwise, the Lion would not appear on the dreamscape site.

This FAQ entry tells us that we need the standard Royalty free license: Here are the highlights of this license:

QQQ
What Royalty-Free means is that you pay for the Media only once and then you can use it in perpetuity and worldwide, with just a few restrictions. In other words, there are no license fees except the initial fee and no other royalties to be paid except those included in the initial cost. You are allowed to use the image for an unlimited number of copies, printed and/or electronic.
QQQ

Summary

Using the Lion without a license was not a deliberate policy. At worst, I made a small (quickly forgotten) mistake ten years ago.

Buying a Lion image should remove any legal taint hovering over Leo's mascot. Imo, there was never any moral taint :-)

Edward