A Chicago man accused of spray-painting Linux graffiti ads on Chicago sidewalks for IBM was ordered to perform 30 days of community service in recompense for criminal property damage resulting from his role in an ad campaign that went awry.
The ads' spray-painted "peace, love and Linux" symbols were part of a national push by the company to support the open-source Linux operating system.
The city made IBM pay more than $18,000 in fines to remove 105 sets of the graffiti - a blue peace sign, heart and smiling penguin - from Chicago sidewalks. Blue is the company's trademark color, and the penguin is the Linux mascot.
The fee the company paid included the cost of cleanup plus a $50 fine for each sidewalk defacing, said Ray Padvoiskis, a spokesman for Chicago's Streets and Sanitation Department.