Apple has threatened legal action against a company making Steve Jobs action figures, forcing it to discontinue the popular toy.
M.I.C Gadget sold a very realistic representation of the fabled Cupertino leader, decked out in his traditional jeans and black turtleneck, for a fairly expensive $79.90, but we imagine it was an attempt to be in keeping with standard Apple overpricing.
The company quickly sold off its initial batch of 300 and was working on a second load when Apple's legal hounds came in, stating that Apple had not consented to M.I.C. Gadget using its “copyrights and trademarks” - we don't recall when it trademarked Steve Jobs.
It also cited Section 3344 of the California Civil Code, which prohibits the unauthorised use of a person's name or likeness. Clearly Jobs was not happy that his doll had a somewhat disproportional head.
M.I.C. Gadget has discontinued the line and made a public apology to Jobs and Apple, but it also asked if a trademark could be applied for and if the action figure could be bundled with new iPhone 4 purchases. We imagine that is unlikely.
The company described its doll as “a little bit creepy, but still cool.” Fellow TechEye hack, Nick Farrell, described it as “my voodoo doll of choice.”
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Perhaps it should have read: Cult Leader.