Jobs doll could be too real
If a bobblehead violates copyright, this could too
Log on to the In Icons website and you might see Steve Jobs staring back at you through wire-rimmed glasses, dressed in his trademark black turtleneck, grey strands streaking his dark hair and beard.
But what looks startlingly like a portrait of the late founder and CEO of Apple Inc. is supposedly a snapshot of the plastic action figure that has the Internet buzzing.
The Jobs doll is a joint venture between In Icons, a Chinese company, and Hong Kong-based Dragon in Dream, the outfit that made a similar but somewhat less lifelike figurine of U.S. President Barack Obama in 2008.
According to the website the doll will stand 30 centimetres tall, and photos posted there show Jobs’ physique and facial features replicated in painstaking detail. As are the accessories: A pair of Jobs’ favourite jeans. Two sets of doll-sized New Balance running shoes. Two pairs of glasses. Two pairs of removable hands, one pair open and the other with index fingers extended.
A stool.
A backdrop that reads, “One more thing . . .” Oh, and one more thing: the product isn’t officially licensed by Jobs’ estate or by Apple. So while it is supposed to retail for $99 (U.S.) and hit the market next month, there’s a strong possibility Apple will file a motion to block sales of the doll. In November, a U.s.-based company sold out of its first run of Steve Jobs bobbleheads, but before it could restock it received a ceaseand-desist order from Apple, citing copyright infringement. And one more thing: the product you purchase might not exactly match the one you see picture on the website, which includes a disclaimer saying as much. Which shouldn’t be too surprising. The Obama figure looks like the U.S. president — if the president spent two hours a day pumping iron. So buyers need to brace themselves for the possibility the doll’s uncanny resemblance to Jobs is lost in mass production.