I’d have put my house and children on Apple suing the Chinese toy manufacturer which produces the incredibly realistic Steve Jobs action figure we reported on earlier this week. And just as expected, it’s threatening to do just that.
In Icon has reportedly received a letter from Apple’s legal team which states it must stop producing and selling the 12-inch $99 figure — which sports Steve’s iconic black turtleneck, blue jeans and white sneakers — immediately, or face legal action. Unfortunately for In Icon, it has no intention of quitting.
But In Icon boss Tandy Cheung isn’t fazed by the threat, and believes his company is doing no wrong. He previously stated that Apple could “do anything they like,” and that his company “will not stop, we already started production.” Cheung’s lawyers in Hong Kong have reportedly advised him that he is not violating Apple’s intellectual property:
Steve Jobs is not an actor, he’s just a celebrity… There is no copyright protection for a normal person. Steve Jobs is not a product… so I don’t think Apple has the copyright of him.
With sales likely to stop at some point, The Next Web reports that the figures are fetching in excess of $135 on eBay.
