Apple Forces Removal Of Steve Jobs Action Figure
from the but-why? dept
A Chinese company, MIC Gadget, got some attention for its Steve Jobs figurine but some of that attention came from Apple's lawyers, who forced the company to stop selling the item. Lawyer David Canton (who pointed us to this story) does a nice job of explaining why this doesn't make much sense:It's not as if this in practice causes any harm to Apple or Steve Jobs or confusion about their brand. It doesn't put Steve or Apple in any bad light -- in fact, it's a good likeness. And it sold quickly, so there is demand for it.But that would go beyond the standard mentality of "protect, protect, protect."
Steve and Apple are not desperate for any extra publicity, or any extra income. But instead of shutting them down -- what if they struck a deal to pay a royalty on each one, and to sell them in Apple stores -- and then Apple donate its income from this to charity.
Filed Under: action figures, publicity rights, steve jobs, trademark
Companies: apple, mic gadget
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I think there is a curse here somewhere.
Apple made some of the most innovative things I ever saw in my time and yet they always seems to get surpassed by other players that open the field to everybody. The insistence of Apple(Jobs) to try and create the ultimate monopoly always fail and he keeps trying, the guy is nothing but persistent LoL
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