Unto the members of the College of Arms,
from Baldwin of Erebor, Laurel King of Arms.
My lords and ladies,
Enclosed herewith is the letter of acceptances
and returns from the Laurel meeting of April 14. Submissions
were processed at this meeting for Laurel (1/28), Meridies (12/18),
Atlantia (12/31), Calontir (1/7), West (1/10), East (1/14), Caid
(1/19), Atenveldt (1/22), and East (3/13). There were 127 items
approved, 42 returned, and 1 pending, for a 75% approval rate.
Schedule
The letters to be processed at the May 12
meeting are Middle (1/25), Ansteorra (1/28), Atenveldt (2/12),
West (2/13), and East (2/24). Dragon's letter of April 20 will
also be reviewed at the May meeting.
The June meeting is scheduled for the 9th.
The letters to be processed at this meeting are Laurel (3/31),
Middle (2/24), Ansteorra (3/3), Calontir (3/3), Caid (3/8), West
(3/10), Atenveldt (3/13), and Middle (3/17). Letters of
comment for this meeting should reach me no later than June 1st.
It appears that the practice of scheduling
letters on the basis of the projected meeting date, which I undertook
tentatively in January, causes more problems than it solves.
I am therefore returning to scheduling letters by month of issue
(with the proviso that letters arriving after the start of the
following month may be carried over to the next meeting) effective
as of the July 14th meeting. The letters scheduled for this meeting
are An Tir (3/26), East (4/1), East (4/5), Caid (4/11), West (4/19),
Atenveldt (4/20), Middle (4/20), and Ansteorra (4/25). Letters
of comment for this meeting should arrive no later than
July 6.
Mailing list
Mistress Keridwen of Montrose has resumed
the office of Aten Herald: M. A. Foster, P.O. Box 864, Los Alamos,
NM 87544. Mistress Graidne ni Mhaire Ruadh has retired as Dragon
Herald. Her successor is Baron Charles Stewart O'Connor, formerly
Pale Herald (which office Mistress Graidne is assuming). Lord
Janos a Sovåny Barcsi, formerly Obelisk Pursuivant, is now
Asterisk Herald of Ansteorra.* All four should receive copies
of letters of intent and comment.
_____________________________
* Yes, Virginia, their titles really are
Asterisk and Obelisk (by Toutatis!).
The new Polaris Herald is Lady Alice of
Kent (Barbara Kearns), 17930 Maple Tree Lane, Brookfield, WI 53005.
The new Trillium Herald is Lady Fiona Averylle of Maidenhead
(Avril Brass), 7 George Street, St. Catharines, Ontario, CANADA
L2R 5Nl. Neither is currently a corresponding member of the College.
Baron Steffan ap Cenydd of Silverwing (Elmet
Herald) is taking a leave of absence from commenting. He hopes
to resume once his mundane workload returns to manageable proportions.
Please remove Master Vuong Manh, Lord Thomas Wakefield, and Lady
AElfhaelen Dracasidth from the mailing list.
An updated copy of the College of Arms roster
is enclosed.
Rules for Submissions
Starting with a couple of the submissions
in this letter, I am implementing the pointandahalf
rule outlined in my March 2 cover letter on a tentative basis.
If two coats consist of different single charges plus a charged
chief or bordure, difference in type of principal charge may count
up to a point and a half. An additional minor point of difference
in the charges on the chief or bordure would then make the two
coats sufficiently different.
Copyright Infringement
A couple of recent comments have referred
to submissions as infringing on "copyrighted" character
names and titles of books. According to Donald F. Johnston, "Short
phrases [and) titles ... have not been recognized as covered by
copyright law." (Copyright Handbook, page 26. R.
R. Bowker Company, second edition 1982.) This applies to names
of characters in works of fiction, titles of books and movies,
names of games, and so forth. Names of characters may be trademarked
(and often are Marvel Comics and LucasFilm are both said
to be trademarkhappy), but the legalities are tied to use
in the same categories of trade. I believe an SCA usage would
constitute trademark infringement only under select circumstances.
This does not mean that such names are necessarily
usable in the SCA we have our own standards of infringement,
which in some ways are stricter than mundane trademark and copyright
law. It does mean, however, that the fact that something is trademarked
is unlikely to be relevant (and that something you may have thought
was covered by copyright actually isn't).
Notes and Queries
Does anyone happen to know what the correct
plural of pegasus is? Is there such a beast? (The plural,
I mean, not the pegasus?)
Please believe me to be,
Your servant,
Baldwin of Erebor
Laurel King of Arms
enclosures