New Jobs figurine legal in most states
updated 12:15 pm EST, Fri January 6, 2012
Image rights typically expire postmortem
The InIcons Steve Jobs figurine is actually legal in most US states, leaving Apple with little support for its threatened lawsuit, a report argues. paidContent notes that there is no federal law governing rights to personal likeness, and that in most US states, those rights expire after a person dies. The few exceptions are Indiana, Illinois, Texas, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, California, Ohio, Virginia, Washington, New Jersey, Nevada, Nebraska, Kentucky, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
Apple also appears not to own a trademark on Jobs' name, in spite of hints to the contrary in its letter to InIcons. Apple may have more luck blocking the figurine internationally, since countries like Argentina and Germany do in fact have national restrictions on likeness rights after death. Apple spokespeople have yet to respond to requests for comment.
The figurine officially goes on sale next month at a cost of $100, but it can also be preordered through eBay. One US auction has the product for a flat $138.88, while an Australian vendor is charging $135 US.
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2000
Meanwhile
This has been sold for months with hardly a peep; even got one for myself:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/81836816/steve-jobs-figurine-handmade-free-steve