Use of Obama's Image

[timdahm]

I want to make a voodoo doll of Obama and want to know if there are any issues to doing so. The product would be a gag product.

Thank you.

[LawResearcherMissy]

Did you take the picture yourself?

If yes, it's legal. Tasteless, but legal.

[kist]

§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
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The problem with copyright law is no one understands it. You can't get a straight answer out of a copyright lawyer.

[Mr. Knowitall]

The problem with copyright law is no one understands it. You can't get a straight answer out of a copyright lawyer.

There's a huge difference between "nobody understands it," and "I (kist) don't understand it."

I want to make a voodoo doll of Obama and want to know if there are any issues to doing so. The product would be a gag product.

Shortly after Arnold Schwarzenegger took office, a company decided to produce a bobblehead doll depicting him as a governor, carrying a gun. Schwarzenegger, apparently forgetting that he was no longer merely an actor, sued. They ultimately settled with the doll maker giving some proceeds to charity and eliminating the gun. But for Schwarzenegger's celebrity as an actor, and the fact that part of the image the doll portrayed was built upon that celebrity as opposed to his being a politician and public figure, he wouldn't have received any concessions.

The question with a photograph is, who owns the copyright? As you were told, you're free to use a picture you take yourself without copyright concerns. You can probably also find a portrait owned by the U.S. government, and thus not subject to copyright - although you have to tread carefully as some content on government websites is produced by private parties and remains subject to their copyrights.

But a voodoo doll? It sounds like, if this gets any traction, you're looking at a whole lot of scrutiny over whether your toy is racist in nature, and possibly as to whether it's an implied threat against the President. Don't underestimate how touchy things will be, in terms of the investigation of possible threats against the President - reportedly, threats against Obama are already at record levels, and he's not even the President yet.