Emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

Under the Geneva Conventions, the emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are to be worn by all medical and humanitarian personnel and also displayed on their vehicles and buildings while they are in an active warzone, and all military forces operating in an active warzone must not attack entities displaying these emblems.

In popular culture, the red cross symbol came to be a recognizable generic emblem for medicine, commonly associated with first aid, medical services, products, or professionals; it has been unlawfully used in toys, movies, and video games, outside of its defined context.

The appropriation of the symbol has led to further irritation due to the practice of hospitals, first aid teams, and ski patrols in the United States reversing the symbol to a white cross on a red background—so undoing the original idea of the Red Cross emblem, namely reversing the Swiss flag—thus inappropriately suggesting an affiliation with Switzerland.

This is the indicative use of the emblems, a meaning which is defined in the statutes of the International Movement and partly in the third Additional Protocol.

In this case, they should be used with an additional specification (for example "American Red Cross") and not be displayed as prominently as when used as protection symbols.

The Red Cross on white background was the original protection symbol declared at the 1864 Geneva Convention.

[2] However, regardless of the shape, any Red Cross on white background should be valid and must be recognized as a protection symbol in conflict.

[4] However, according to jurist and Red Cross historian Pierre Boissier, no clear evidence of this origin has been found; the concept that the design was chosen to complement the country in which the convention at which it was adopted was held, was also promoted later to counter the objections of Turkey that the flag was a Christian symbol.

[8] Some of these organizations, like the Camillians and Sovereign Military Order of Malta, are engaged in humanitarian or medical work.

From its official recognition to today, the Red Crescent became the organizational emblem of nearly every national society in countries with majority Muslim populations except Indonesia.

Following an unplanned extension of the conference until December 7, the protocol was adopted after a vote successfully achieved the required two-thirds majority.

[13] The adoption of the third protocol emblem paved the way for the recognition and admission of Magen David Adom as a full member of the International Federation, as the rules of the third protocol allow it to continue using the Red Shield of David when operating within Israel and provide a solution for its missions abroad.

The original motto of the International Committee of the Red Cross was Inter Arma Caritas ("In War, Charity").

This Christian-spirited slogan was amended in 1961 with the neutral motto Per Humanitatem ad Pacem or "With humanity, towards peace".

The mission statement of the International Movement as formulated in the "Strategy 2010" document of the Federation is "to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Inside the chapel, 1,413 skulls and many more bones from thousands of French and Austrian troops who died during the battle are shown.

In Castiglione delle Stiviere, a small town near Solferino, the International Museum of the Red Cross was also opened in 1959.

Such uses appear in movies (a notable example is The Living Daylights,[17][18] wherein narcotics were disguised as Red Cross care packages, as a plot device), on television, and in computer software and games.

But in most post-Soviet countries, inherited from the Soviet Union, the Red Cross still remains a symbol of medicine, used on first-aid kits and ambulances.

In recognition of this fact, Protocol III expressly preserves most pre-2005 trademarks containing the Red Crystal, as long as they cannot be confused with military uses.

1129), in Section 3(c) "Unauthorized distribution of badges and products", states: No person shall, except with the authority of the Hong Kong Red Cross, distribute or sell or expose for sale ... any product which contains the emblem of the Geneva Convention, with or without additional words, characters or designs[28]This restriction on the use of the emblem was added in 1995.

Geneva Conventions and United Nations Personnel (Protocols) Act 2009 extended the protection to the Red Crystal.

On 6 June 1900, the bill to charter the American National Red Cross (ARC) was signed into law.

Concerned over potential pre-emption, commercial users lobbied for codification of their existing trademark rights.

In 1910, Congress formally established that lawful use of the Red Cross name and emblem that began prior to 5 January 1905, could continue, but only if that use was "for the same purpose and for the same class of goods".

Both to implement Protocol III (which had received advice and consent from the United States Senate in 2006; the U.S. formalized its ratification in March 2007) and to address these concerns, the Geneva Distinctive Emblems Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–481) was signed into law 12 January 2007, two days before Protocol III went into effect.

J&J released a statement to the public on 8 August 2007, detailing its decision to file suit,[34] claiming prior rights to the emblem.

It issued a further press release two days later, disputing several of J&J's claims and asserting that "The Red Cross has been selling first aid kits commercially in the United States since 1903.

The charity said that all money it received from the sale of these products to consumers was reinvested in its humanitarian programs and services.