Will Obamas Seek Royalties for Ty’s New Sasha and Malia Dolls?
The toy maker that sells Beanie Babies is selling two new dolls with the names “Marvelous Malia” and “Sweet Sasha.”
Company spokeswoman Tania Lundeen told Crain’s Chicago Business that the dolls were created to resemble Barack Obama’s daughters, but she had a different spin in an interview with the Associated Press.
She told AP that the names were chosen simply because they are beautiful. “There’s nothing on the dolls that refers to the Obama girls,” Lundeen told AP. “It would not be fair to say they are exact replications of these girls. They are not.”
Lundeen said the company didn’t seek permission from the Obamas to use the girls’ images, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Chicago lawyer Phillip Barengolts told Crain’s that the Obamas could seek royalties, but it’s unlikely to happen.
Barengolts said public figures have a right to control the manufacture of merchandise that bears their likeness, but in the case of political figures their rights are often trumped by free speech concerns.
“Realistically it is not something [the Obamas] would want to challenge, as long as the dolls are not offensive in any way,” he told Crain’s.
