King family seeks to cash in on MLK-Obama items

[babylonsister]

This bothers me. Too bad the almighty dollar is so important to them. And I say 'good luck' collecting.


King family seeks to cash in on MLK-Obama items

As MLK-Obama posters and T-shirts proliferate, King's family looks for a piece of the action

ERRIN HAINES
AP News

Nov 13, 2008 15:25 EST


Zealous guardians of his words and his likeness, the family of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is demanding a share of the proceeds from the sudden wave of T-shirts, posters and other merchandise depicting the civil rights leader alongside Barack Obama.

Isaac Newton Farris Jr., King's nephew and head of the nonprofit King Center in Atlanta, said the estate is entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees — maybe even millions.

"Some of this is probably putting food on people's plates. We're not trying to stop anybody from legitimately supporting themselves," he said, "but we cannot allow our brand to be abused."

But while Obama's election as the first black president may be the fulfillment of King's dream and could yield a big windfall for his estate, policing his image and actually collecting any fees could prove to be a legal nightmare because of the great proliferation of unauthorized King-Obama paraphernalia, much of it sold by street vendors.

more...

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/11/king_family_seeks_to_cash_in_o.php

[Sequoia]

1. Our brand?

MLK, Jr. is their brand? I don't think MLK, Jr. would like that attitude one bit!!!

[TomInTib]

4. Same here.

I think he would see himself as PD (Public Domain).

The King Family members are not "zealous guardians", the are "make money offa MLK's memory".

[ben_meyers]

2. Much like the estates of Elvis or John Lennon

I would guess that MLK's estate legally owns the rights to his works and image.

After all we applaud here when an artist goes after a politician for using various songs or images when they don't agree with their policies.

[babylonsister]

3. Now that's a good point. But to try to cash in on images on a t-shirt

that's already been sold seems like a task in futility.

[ben_meyers]

5. In some cases it is futile

however in order to protect future claims of infringement it helps to show a pattern of protecting their rights. It also sends a message that such actions will not be tolerated.