Star of Life
The Star of Life can be found on ambulances, medical personnel uniforms, and other objects associated with emergency medicine or first aid.
The AMA did not trademark or copyright the symbol, stating it was being "freely offered" to manufacturers,[1] and also was for use on cards carried by persons with a medical condition.
"[7] NREMT subsequently registered a service mark featuring a Star of Life and the words "NATIONAL REGISTRY."
[8] Prior to the use of the Star of Life, ambulances in the United States commonly displayed a safety orange-colored cross on a square background.
[11] Leo R. Schwartz, Chief of the EMS Branch, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States, modified the Star of Life by adding the six main tasks of Emergency Medical Services and changing the color from red (used by the AMA) to blue.
[12] The "blue Star of Life" was recommended for adoption by the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare on October 25, 1973,[13] and was registered as a certification mark on February 1, 1977 in the name of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
[14] Both NREMT's version and the US government's modification omit the white outline around the edge common on many of today's ambulances.
Egyptian Ministry of Health ambulances display the Star of Life on one rear door, and a red crescent on the other.
[20] National Ambulances in the United Arab Emirates does not display the Star of Life, instead showing an EKG graphic on the sides and rear.
[23] Brazil's ABNT Standard NBR 14561 for ambulance design makes direct reference to being based on the American Star of Life vehicle.
Ambulances which do not comply with the Brazilian standard are prohibited from displaying the Star of Life or the word “RESGATE” (rescue).
As restoration of independence, the Riga Emergency Medical Service Station called on the government to adopt the Star of Life (Latvian: Dzīvības zvaigzne, sometimes sniegpārsla - 'snowflake') and the change was made with effect from 12 January 1995.
[29] In Germany, the symbol was registered in 1993 by industry association BKS, an umbrella organization for private rescue services there.
[30] In December 2020, another ambulance industry association, DBRD, filed a challenge with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.
The challengers claimed the trademark office seemed to have been not properly informed of these facts, which presumably could have led the original application to have been denied on public domain grounds.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office's 2014 rejection of a trademark on a minimally modified Star of Life was also cited.
