King Family Seeks to Cash in on MLK-Obama Items
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Errin Haines, AP, November 13, 2008
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.”
{snip}
King’s writings, likeness and voice are considered intellectual property, and almost any use—from graduate thesis papers to TV documentaries—are subject to approval by his estate, now administered by his surviving children, Martin Luther King III, Dexter King and the Rev. Bernice King. (Because Obama is an elected official, his words and image are in the public domain and can be used without permission.)
Farris said he expects to announce deals in the coming weeks to license some items featuring images of King and Obama, and may sell some in the King Center bookstore alongside recordings of his speeches, postcards, calendars, mugs bearing images of King, and other licensed merchandise, which nets the center about $800,000 annually.
{snip}
Any proceeds from King-Obama merchandise would also go to the King Center, said Farris, a member of the estate management team that reviews intellectual property issues.
The family, which refuses to divulge details of its licensing deals, is also discussing how to go after violators.
{snip}
“We realize the historic nature of events surrounding President-elect Obama and we are seeking an elegant solution to address the commercial use of Dr. King’s image in connection with our newly elected president,” Dexter King said in a statement.
With the siblings already battling in court over whether to publish their mother’s diaries, it could be difficult for them to reach a consensus.
Jock Smith, an attorney for Bernice King and Martin Luther King III, warned that any action Dexter King takes without their approval would be “an illegal action not sanctioned by the corporation.”
{snip}
(Posted on November 14, 2008)
Comments
When I was in Vegas three days before election day, there was a similar story with a Sin City twist. Seems one local candidate had been running negative ads on his opponents spending policies, complete with the song “Hey Big Spender” playing in the back ground for effect. The owners of the song copyright sued quicker than a dice roll for both money and to cease and desist.
I told my spouse, in any other town the story would be buried on page 7B. But Vegas is a different world. Since this had to do with money, and floozies and showtunes (all Vegas tie-ins) it was Page 1 above the fold… I suppose MLK is just another cash cow and revenue device in his part of the world. And somehow I feel good about that.
Posted by Tim Mc Hugh at 6:12 PM on November 14
“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.”
He has a legitimate point. If you own a trademark and DON’T respond when it’s infringed, you may lose it.
Posted by Howard Fezell at 6:20 PM on November 14
Too bad they cash in on everything even remotely connected with their father the race-huckster, but how do they possibly consider themselves entitled to Obama stuff?
Posted by at 6:35 PM on November 14
Yup, I can just see these characters coming up with an elegant “solution.” This constant fighting over money never seems to stop with this family.
Tom Iron…
Posted by Tom Iron at 6:54 PM on November 14
I don’t have to judge these people by the color of their skin when I can judge them by their character. Crass hucksters one and all.
Posted by sbuffalonative at 7:02 PM on November 14
Is there anything more shameless than these crass pimps selling the rights to their late mother’s diary and love letters?
Graverobbers are less ghoulish…
Posted by Madison Grant at 11:47 PM on November 14
Should the King family get any royalties for streets, communities or anything else named MLK this or that? The riches to be had, every single city, community and town in the U.S. has a ghetto identifying MLK something or other, so that whites know to stay away, sort of like the biohazard warning insignia.
Posted by Skip at 5:45 AM on November 15
I think the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holliday should be cancelled out of consideration for the King family’s intellectual property rights.
Posted by larry k at 11:08 AM on November 15
It appears the “civil rights” industry is a very lucrative way to sponge off whites. You don’t even have to prove we’re racists. The Civil Rights people define what “racism” is, they set the price, and we are required to cough up the dough. Pretty smart deal, right?
Posted by at 12:47 PM on November 15
Since the King family is so concerned about the display of his image anywhere, any time, I have a solution: Banish King’s photos from schoolbooks, take down his portraits wherever they may be, and just make his image go away.
The justification for this would be that you wouldn’t want to risk a lawsuit from the King family, therefore it’s easier to banish his likeness and image.
On a sidebar, wanna bet his family will sue like heck to prevent the release of those papers the FBI has?
Posted by Soprano Fan at 3:09 PM on November 15
What’s next? Martin Luther King junior college?
or Martin Luther King junior mints?
or will Obama adopt MLK Jr.’s name and call himself King Obama Jr.?
Posted by huh? at 6:58 PM on November 15
“Since the King family is so concerned about the display of his image anywhere, any time, I have a solution: Banish King’s photos from schoolbooks, take down his portraits wherever they may be, and just make his image go away.”
I think that’s actually happening. For all the talk there is about him, I rarely see his image anywhere. Not that I miss seeing it of course.
Also, I always refer to it as “Milk Day” just to see if people get the reference. They usually do. Altho, maybe it should be “chocolate milk day.”
Posted by JustSaying at 3:32 PM on November 16
Check out King County, Washington:
That image of King is on everything. Every piece of mail, every vehicle, it’s all King, all the time.
Posted by at 9:14 PM on November 17