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[mojobadshah]

Can I use an advertisement printed in the early 1900's with the GE logo on it in commerce without getting sued?

[artchain]

You posted this question in the copyright forum, so let's start with that aspect.

If the ad was published in the "early 1900's" then it is no longer protected by copyright.  Here's a good resource explaining the "terms" of copyrights:

http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm

However, the GE logo is probably a trademark...  so your use of the ad for commercial purposes could be a violation of GE's trademark rights, depending on how it is used.

[mojobadshah]

Yeah, I realized both those aspects.  The weird thing is GE is uses the word "Mazda" in their advertisement.  And that word is associated with people of Iranian heritage, and if I was Iranian I'd be seriously ticked off if the law was going to tell me that it was OK for GE to use what is restrictedly my heritage in their advertisement but not ok for me to use the same advertisement for my own use in commerce.  So basically what you're telling me is I have to ask a company for permission to use an advertisement that uses an expression that is restricted to my heritage, a company that doesn't represent my heritage, but that company doesn't have to ask me and people who share my heritage to use that expression in their advertisement?  Twisted. 

[artchain]

"Mazda" in this context has nothing to do with your cultural heritage.

It was a brand of light bulbs that was acquired by GE.

Words can have more than one meaning.

Incidentally, the artist/illustrator Maxfield Parrish produced calendars for Mazda lights; some of the illustrations are among his best known works.

[mojobadshah]

I can't believe you even went there.  Mazda in the context of that GE advertisement has allot to do with the Iranian cultural heritage.  Thomas Edison was into the Zoroastrian religion.  Mazda was represented by the luminaries.     

[artchain]

I can't believe you even went there.  Mazda in the context of that GE advertisement has allot to do with the Iranian cultural heritage.  Thomas Edison was into the Zoroastrian religion.  Mazda was represented by the luminaries.     

Well, that would made sense if Edison had anything to do with the Mazda brand.  But he didn't.  It was create by another company, and GE simply bought them. 

[mojobadshah]

There does appear to be a discrepancy here.  In "the man who sent the wiseman" the author states edisons company was even called the mazda electric company. The brand name mazda is difinitely of zoroastrian origin however.

[artchain]

There does appear to be a discrepancy here.  In "the man who sent the wiseman" the author states edisons company was even called the mazda electric company. The brand name mazda is difinitely of zoroastrian origin however.

That's odd.  My understanding is that the name was associated with the "Richland Mazda Company" of Shelby, Ohio, which was later called the Shelby Electric company (but carried forward the Mazda brand). 

Shelby Electric was then acquired by GE, which was taking over many smaller companies.  GE continued to use both the Mazda and Shelby brand names for many years, though they did not originate either. 

As an interesting historic side note, the oldest light bulb in continuous use (for over 110 years) still burns in a fire house in California (http://elcotoro.blogspot.com/).  It was manufactured by Shelby Electric, which in its day was apparently one of the leading lighting companies.