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Stolen Valour 2

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drawoh said:
Your free speech does not extend to you making a pair of shoes and affixing a Nike swoosh to them.
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Actually I believe your free speech does in fact extend this far, but short of selling or using the shoes in commerce. Link
 
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Twoballcane,

Most of the problem here is brand protection. If Scott Thompson lies about having a university degree, there is a conflict between him and the university he claims to have a degree from.

All he did to Yahoo was lie to them.

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JHG
 
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So then, TenPenny, should you be arrested for telling a girl you're a Nobel Prize winner so you can get laid?
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I read an article last year about a Muslim who got arrested in Israel for claiming to be Jewish to get laid. Even though the sex was consensual, they arrested him for rape.

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -
 
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The decision said the following:

Supreme Court Majority said:
The First Amendment requires that there be a direct causal link between the restriction imposed and the injury to be prevented. Here, that link has not been shown.
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Reading the article, it appears there was not enough evidence to back up the law. Perhaps something as simple as a benefit-cost analysis on the restriction would have been sufficient to justify the law. It would seem that they are saying it wasn't proven that the law did anything but stop a blowhard from falsely bragging about war honors.

For false claims of a P. Eng., the defense could be tried but it probably is a lot easier to show a link between the value of the profession and public safety.
 
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As a PE your morality and character were verified by reference when you applied.
If you lied about recieveing an honor that you didn't. Your license could be revoked.
Most states can revoke your license for lying about CEUs, signing a drawing you had nothing to do with. etc.
 
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BJC,

I was thinking more along the lines of people who lie about being PEs. To what level is speech line this protected?

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JHG
 
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BJC,

One more thought.

An engineers society that kicks out members who claim to be US Navy SEALs, is not a free speech issue. If you set up any sort of society, you have some right to be exclusive. No da-glo pink ties, no reality TV, no cheap booze, no lying...



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JHG
 
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The difference is that stating that you are a PE, which is a business title, implies that you are making a business statement, which, by law, implies that you are offering engineering services, whether that's your intent or not, which means you violate the PE laws of the state.

TTFN
faq731-376
7ofakss
 
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"An engineers society that kicks out members who claim to be US Navy SEALs, is not a free speech issue. If you set up any sort of society, you have some right to be exclusive. No da-glo pink ties, no reality TV, no cheap booze, no lying..."
It's not a society-it's a requlatory organization set up by law to protect the public.
Breaking the law, lying, displaying moral turpitude or displaying gross stupidity is a reflection on every member.

 
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Why isn't this all covered by trademark protection laws?

Like someone else said, its similar to affixing a Nike swoosh to your phony shoes. Of course, actually printing the symbol is different than telling people a story. So then this becomes a lesson in how talk is cheap. Someone saying something doesn't mean squat. The law might be able to do something about wearing a second-hand medal (unearned).

I'm sure you could dig through many professional codes of conduct and come up with a violation if such a statement were made in the context of seeking employment or a contract. And this could possibly be actionable at some regulatory level.

But just as talk thrown around at a cocktail party for example, if it impresses members of the opposite sex, they should have known better than to believe a BS artist.
 
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