@Gian Song Yim  
Wow thats hilarious.

@Gian Song Yim  
… why? That isn’t even in keeping with her color scheme.

Altered again…  

Plus, she gets an additional red heart out of it.

@vinylscratchp0n3  
It was Hasbro’s decision, but it was a decision made based on what was happening at the time in regards to that particular symbol, regardless of who was doing it. The fact was lawsuits were going around, and a lawsuit from the Red Cross is just as unappealing as a lawsuit from Johnson & Johnson would be, which is just as unappealing as a lawsuit from your janitor down the hall because he stubbed his toe on the coffee machine that sat too far out in the hall for just too long while they were moving it… This is the US. Just the mere possibility that they might face a lawsuit over a symbol on a pony’s haunches was enough to warrant the change. Same thing happened to Derpy. It was a small change in their eyes to avoid a very bad, very expensive, POSSIBLE situation.

@vinylscratchp0n3
 
Later Halo & Fallout games have had to replace the red cross (and there are more examples).

Wonder if Valve’s gonna update out Medic’s red cross symbol that’s on everything ever with something else. Doubt it, but TF2 is about as high profile as MLP so you’d think they’d be on either J&J or ICRC’s radar too, which makes me think changing Nurse Redheart’s cutie mark was Hasbro’s idea, not anything they were forced to do.

@Exedrus  

@Badumsquish  
It’s comments like these that make me wish there was an upvote system.

@Ihhh  
I usually prefer to quote small parts of text via the indent arrows. The [bq] tag is a bit heavy for when there’s only a little text in it.

@Exedrus  
there’s a quote feature, you don’t need to green text.

@Badumsquish  

Huh, so that’s what the official symbols are supposed to be. Good to know.
 

Wow… just wow. XD
 

I find that debatable. I mean I dunno that many people would be able place the Red Cross symbol as a J&J trademark. It seemed like it kinda jumped well past that branding, and became it’s own cultural thing (especially considering how it’s codified in international treaties).
 

I kinda liked the old one because it was more distinct, although the new one isn’t bad.

@Badumsquish  
Huh… that actually explains a lot.
 
Personally, I liked her old one better, though the new one is fine.

So what’s happened to all the other nurse ponies?

@Exedrus  
The thing is, is a red cross is not a symbol of health, first-aid, or medicine. The ISO symbol for first aid is either a green cross on a white background, or a white cross on a green background, and the Star of Life is the symbol of ambulances and hospitals. The red cross is specifically a symbol of affiliation with that group and protection under the Geneva convention.
 
The only reason the red cross is considered a symbol of health in North America is because it’s also a registered trademark of Johnson & Johnson who have used it on their first aid products since the 1800s and the Red Cross themselves have manufactured first-aid kits that of course bear their logo. In fact, for all anyone knows, it was Johnson & Johnson who demanded MLP stop using their registered symbol. They were dickish enough to file suit against the Red Cross themselves for using the symbol (seriously) so MLP definitely wouldn’t be off their radar.
 
Long story short, it actually makes no sense for her to have the original cutie mark because she’s not affiliated with the Red Cross Organization, nor is she owned by Johnson & Johnson. It would be like making Shining Armor’s cutie mark this because he’s a soldier, or making Rarity’s cutie mark a Nike logo because she makes clothes.
 
Also, her new cutie mark looks better I think. Her old one clashed and stuck out; the new one blends better with her coloring.

@Badumsquish  
Yeah that sounds like the most probable cause of all this. Kind of a shame.

That seems reasonable. As someone pointed out, the toy was changed years ago. Might as well update everything and avoid trouble. I’d argue that it’d not a lesser cutie mark.

@Exedrus  
I legit doubt they were actually told to do it. Someone along the way probably pointed out “Hey we can’t legally use that copyrighted symbol” and someone else said “Well let’s change it so we don’t cause problems”.

@Background Pony #BBF4
 
It’s incredibly stupid how video games have to color them green now (even in older games when they are remade). Even in video games that are supposed to take place in modern day so the green cross looks completely out of place.

@kleptomage  
In all honesty, It doesn’t. But the Geneva Conventions clearly state that use of the symbol without their permission or in a manner which they have not designated is strictly prohibited. This has been in effect for over a century now. The 1949 Geneva Convention explicitly states the restrictions on the usage of the symbol: “The use by individuals, societies, firms or companies either public or private, other than those entitled thereto under the present Convention, of the emblem or the designation ‘Red Cross’ or ‘Geneva Cross’ or any sign or designation constituting an imitation thereof, whatever the object of such use, and irrespective of the date of its adoption, shall be prohibited at all times.” To put it another way, the work of the Red Cross is many orders of magnitude more important than consistency in a cartoon. Removing the symbol from the cartoon is a small price to pay to ensure that the Red Cross can continue their humanitarian work.

@kleptomage  
Indeed. If anything, helping to associate the ‘red cross’ symbol with hospitals/doctors/nurses seems like something the organization would want. I mean a big part of the humanitarian aid they provide is medical services.

@cloudkicker108  
I fail to see how a cartoon pony with a red cross on its flank in any way interferes with the mission of the Red Cross.

This requires further investigation.

@cloudkicker108  
It is too bad that they hadn’t come up with a slightly more complex symbol though, regardless of opinion.

@V_for_Vodka  
I can understand that the Red Cross is far from perfect, but how is an organization that has been in existence for more than 150 years a scam?
 
The Red Cross does a lot to offer humanitarian aid around the world. They do very important work. Anything that potentially lessens their ability to do that could have harmful effects on those efforts. That’s why the symbol is protected by the Geneva Convention and why they restrict its use.