White House Wants to Limit Commercial Use of President's Likeness
Bloomberg is reporting that the White House wants to control and limit the usage of the president's image. Bloomberg quotes White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki as saying, "Our lawyers are working on developing a policy that will protect the presidential image while being careful not to squelch the overwhelming enthusiasm that the public has for the president."
Psaki wouldn't provide details about legal options the White House counsel's office is considering to deal with commercial use of Obama's likeness.
The White House lawyers may have to make case-by-case determinations about the best ways to protect the presidential image without tempering enthusiasm or trampling on free-speech protections, said Jonathan Band, an intellectual property lawyer in Washington.
"It will be difficult," Band said. "Because he is the president of the United States and there was this campaign and everyone's proud, I think the First Amendment will be applied much more broadly with respect to people wanting to use an image of the president than it would be with typical entertainment figures or sports figures."
Princeton University historian Fred Greenstein told Bloomberg that newsworthy figures invite parody.
"Its par for the course," he said. Presidents have all been imitated, positively and negatively, in one form or another, he said. "When you have really newsworthy and dynamic figures they invite parody, they invite idolizations, they invite imitation in one mode or another."
It's unclear how exactly the White House could limit usage of the president's likeness on products. Legally they may not be able do very much because of free-speech rights, but it seems wrong that companies are using Barack Obama's image to suggest he is endorsing a brand. False advertising laws could help if corporations are alleging the President said something he did not say. There have been scads products created over the years featuring the likenesses of past presidents, without any White House interference.
Bloomberg is 
