In Icons' action figure of late Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs
Chinese company In Icons has removed its action figure in the likeness of late Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs from sale following a legal challenge from the consumer tech giant and Jobs’ family.
In an announcement posted on its website, In Icons cited “immense pressure from the lawyers of Apple and Steve Jobs’ family.”
“Regardless of the pressure, I am still Steve’s fan, I fully respect Steve, and his family, and it is definitely not my wish or intention that they be upset,” the announcement, signed as being from inicons.com, continued.
“Though we still believe that we have not overstepped any legal boundaries, we have decided to completely stop the offer, production and sale of the Steve Jobs figurine out of our heartfelt sensitivity to the feelings of the Jobs family.”
In Icons also apologised to fans who are affected by the withdrawal of the product. The company said it would refund customers who had pre-ordered the figure, which was set to ship next month at a price of US$99.
Earlier this month, Apple had reportedly threatened to sue In Icons over the doll, telling the company that any toy that resembles Apple’s logo, person’s name, appearance or likeness of its products is a criminal offence.
The action figure sported sneakers, blue jeans and Jobs’ trademark black turtleneck jumper. The toy also came with glasses, a leather belt, a pair of black socks, a bar stool, a “One More Thing” backdrop, and even two apples, one of which had a bite taken out of it.
The doll even came with a spare pair of hands, which enabled the action figure to point in a Jobs-like fashion.
At the time, The Next Web reported In Icon boss Tandy Cheung as having said the company “will not stop, we already started production”.
Cheung also said lawyers in Hong Kong had told him he was not violating Apple’s intellectual property as long as he didn’t include any Apple products.
