President and Copyright
Ever since February of 2007 when he made the announcement that he was running for President of The United States, Barack Obama’s name and face have been put on almost every product imaginable. Originally it was Barack Obama’s own campaign that would sell typical items, such as pins and posters in order to raise money. However, towards the end of the democratic primaries in mid 2008, the battle to win the party’s nomination made Barack Obama a household name. Pins and posters quickly turned into more unusual products such as Chia Pets, his own cereal, pajamas and even a new Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor. The amount of Obama products that companies were selling was unprecedented compared to any other item they have sold. When Barack Obama was elected President of The United States, sales went even further through the roof. It was around this time that lawyers and other staff members on The President’s team started raising concerns and questions about the US copyright laws. This raises questions about copyright laws.
• If a celebrity’s face is used on products that are sold to the public, they will demand and in most cases receive royalties. Royalties are benefits received by who ever is the author or rightful owner of the original work that is being sold. Typical examples of celebrities who’s face are often used on products range from Marilyn Monroe to Michael Jackson, Elvis and Michael Jordan. Due to copyright laws, these celebrities receive money from any product with their face or trademark image on it that is sold. The copyright laws protect people from profiting from other people’s work, face, or trademark image. Without copyright laws, you could put a popular celebrity’s face on a coffee mug, sell it and not owe any of your profit to anybody.
• Copyright law is not applied the same way to The President of The United States as it is with other celebrities. The same could be said about other world leaders. When dealing with copyright law and world leaders or popular political figures, the first amendment come into play. The first amendment gives Americans the right to freedom of speech. Because Barack Obama is The President of The United States, using his face on products can be debated over people’s right to express their support or opposition for Barack Obama. However, White House lawyers have recently been looking at the situation in regards to copyright law. Although copyright law does give people rights to their own images, this situation is not as black and white as it is with other celebrities. White House lawyers are now looking for ways to protect The President’s rights. However, they are being careful as to not downplay the excitement that the general public has for the leader of the free world. Many people suggest that President Barack Obama is currently the most famous person in the world. So if White House lawyers attempt to put a complete stop to the selling of The President’s image, that could result in negative feelings and feedback from the American people.
There have been cases of American citizens being criminally prosecuted for using Barack Obama’s image for profit. One person used The President’s image on a poster that became extremely popular and faced criminal charges for not only selling the poster, but lied about where the exact image came from. Many people feel that since he is The President of The United States, he should be held to a different standard in terms of copyright law. However, White House lawyers and Barack Obama supporters feel that this freedom can allow The President’s image in a negative way. The situation has not yet been resolved.