Buzz Aldrin is the Topps!
 

Buzz Aldrin sues trading-card company Topps

Moonwalker says company unfairly profited from his historic achievement
Jim Seida / MSNBC.com file
Buzz Aldrin sued Topps Inc. this week in federal court in Los Angeles,
saying the company had unfairly profited from his historic achievement
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
LOS ANGELES - Former lunar astronaut Buzz Aldrin is not over the moon
about the use of his photo on a series of trading cards.
The 80-year-old Aldrin sued Topps Inc. this week in federal court in Los
Angeles, saying the company had unfairly profited from his historic
achievement when they used an iconic photograph of Aldrin standing on
the moon in a series of "American Heroes" trading cards.
In documents filed with the court, attorneys representing Aldrin noted
that the astronaut has received settlement payments amounting to more
than $760,000 over the years for infringements due to unauthorized
commercial use of Aldrin's image.
Topps attorney Michael Kahn told the Los Angeles Times that the firm has
a First Amendment right to include a factual description of the Apollo
11 mission and it included an image of Aldrin in his lunar suit because
he is "an American hero."
Aldrin's lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and an order
prohibiting Topps from marketing the cards.
CollectSpace founder Robert Pearlman, an expert on space-related
collectibles, noted that Aldrin is just one of several astronauts who
have contested the commercial use of their images. For example, Aldrin's
commander on the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong, brought legal
proceedings against Hallmark for the use of his name and voice in a
holiday ornament. That case was settled out of court for an unspecified
amount.
Similar lawsuits have been brought by shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless
as well as Apollo 12's Pete Conrad and Apollo 15's Jim Irwin and their
families, Pearlman said.
"NASA's position is that while the photographs taken on the moon, in
space, and elsewhere during the astronauts' careers with the space
agency are public domain â€" meaning no copyright is asserted
â€" if the images are used for commercial purposes, permission
should first be sought from the person(s) depicted," Pearlman told
msnbc.com in an e-mail.
Pearlman said he appreciated Aldrin's view, but worried that such legal
disputes "could dissuade Topps and other trading card companies from
producing astronaut- and space-themed products, which would be
unfortunate."
"Dating back to the 1960s, space trading cards have been a great way to
engage kids in learning about space history," Pearlman said.
This report includes information from The Associated Press and
msnbc.com. CollectSpace provides further information about Aldrin vs.
Topps, including links to legal documents in the case.
© 2010 msnbc.com
More from Space
-*New cracks found on space shuttle's fuel tank
-*New Year's Eve show stars Venus and the moon
-*'Zombie' satellite comes back to life
-*Russian officials punished for satellite screw-up
-*European rocket launches two satellites
Video coverage
Anti-spam crusader cashes in by suing spammers
Man quits job, makes a million suing spammers (01:56)
Hackers to target phones, social media in 2011 (03:07)
Ancient teeth may alter human origin theory
Top online risks for 2011
More videos in Technology & science
Search msnbc.com
1 Top stories
2 Business
3 Sports | Scores
4 U.S. news
5 World news
6 Politics
7 Tech & science
8 Entertainment
9 Health
- Travel
-
-
- Nightly News
- TODAY
- Dateline
- Meet the Press
- Countdown
- Rachel Maddow
-
-
- See news breaking?
- Podcasts
- Local news
- News alerts
0 MSN home
*Top # Bottom
Switch to regular msnbc.com site

MSN Privacy . Legal
© 2011 MSNBC.com


*******************************_
****************************/'_/)
**************************,/_**/
*************************/****/
*******************/'_'/'***'/'__'7,
****************/'/****/****/****/"*/_\
* * * * * * * *('( * *' **** * * /' * ') *
* * * * * * * \ * * *You' * * * * */
*****************'\'**************_.7'
*******************\*************(
*********************\************\
CRIPES A'MIGHTY 3RD
STICK IT UP WITH MAMMY'S SUPPOSITORIES!
AND
DON'T TAZE MY GRANNY!

Buzz Aldrin is the Topps!
 

On Jan 2, 3:17*am, (F~A~R~V~A-Yankee Northern
Allfather) wrote:
Buzz Aldrin sues trading-card company Topps

Moonwalker says company unfairly profited from his historic achievement
Jim Seida / MSNBC.com file
Buzz Aldrin sued Topps Inc. this week in federal court in Los Angeles,
saying the company had unfairly profited from his historic achievement
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
LOS ANGELES - Former lunar astronaut Buzz Aldrin is not over the moon
about the use of his photo on a series of trading cards.
The 80-year-old Aldrin sued Topps Inc. this week in federal court in Los
Angeles, saying the company had unfairly profited from his historic
achievement when they used an iconic photograph of Aldrin standing on
the moon in a series of "American Heroes" trading cards.
In documents filed with the court, attorneys representing Aldrin noted
that the astronaut has received settlement payments amounting to more
than $760,000 over the years for infringements due to unauthorized
commercial use of Aldrin's image.
Topps attorney Michael Kahn told the Los Angeles Times that the firm has
a First Amendment right to include a factual description of the Apollo
11 mission and it included an image of Aldrin in his lunar suit because
he is "an American hero."
Aldrin's lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and an order
prohibiting Topps from marketing the cards.
CollectSpace founder Robert Pearlman, an expert on space-related
collectibles, noted that Aldrin is just one of several astronauts who
have contested the commercial use of their images. For example, Aldrin's
commander on the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong, brought legal
proceedings against Hallmark for the use of his name and voice in a
holiday ornament. That case was settled out of court for an unspecified
amount.
Similar lawsuits have been brought by shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless
as well as Apollo 12's Pete Conrad and Apollo 15's Jim Irwin and their
families, Pearlman said.
"NASA's position is that while the photographs taken on the moon, in
space, and elsewhere during the astronauts' careers with the space
agency are public domain â€" meaning no copyright is asserted
â€" if the images are used for commercial purposes, permission
should first be sought from the person(s) depicted," Pearlman told
msnbc.com in an e-mail.
Pearlman said he appreciated Aldrin's view, but worried that such legal
disputes "could dissuade Topps and other trading card companies from
producing astronaut- and space-themed products, which would be
unfortunate."
"Dating back to the 1960s, space trading cards have been a great way to
engage kids in learning about space history," Pearlman said.
This report includes information from The Associated Press and
msnbc.com. CollectSpace provides further information about Aldrin vs.
Topps, including links to legal documents in the case.
© 2010 msnbc.com
More from Space
-*New cracks found on space shuttle's fuel tank
-*New Year's Eve show stars Venus and the moon
-*'Zombie' satellite comes back to life
-*Russian officials punished for satellite screw-up
-*European rocket launches two satellites
Video coverage
*Anti-spam crusader cashes in by suing spammers
*Man quits job, makes a million suing spammers (01:56)
*Hackers to target phones, social media in 2011 (03:07)
*Ancient teeth may alter human origin theory
*Top online risks for 2011
More videos in Technology & science
Search msnbc.com
1 Top stories
2 Business
3 Sports | Scores
4 U.S. news
5 World news
6 Politics
7 Tech & science
8 Entertainment
9 Health
- Travel
-
-
- Nightly News
- TODAY
- Dateline
- Meet the Press
- Countdown
- Rachel Maddow
-
-
- See news breaking?
- Podcasts
- Local news
- News alerts
0 MSN home
*Top # Bottom
Switch to regular msnbc.com site

MSN Privacy . Legal
© 2011 MSNBC.com

*******************************_
****************************/'_/)
**************************,/_**/
*************************/****/
*******************/'_'/'***'/'__'7,
****************/'/****/****/****/"*/_\
* * * * * * * *('( * *' **** * * /' * ') *
* * * * * * * \ * * *You' * * * * */
*****************'\'**************_.7'
*******************\*************(
*********************\************\
CRIPES A'MIGHTY 3RD
STICK IT UP WITH MAMMY'S SUPPOSITORIES!
* * * * * * * * * AND
DON'T TAZE MY GRANNY!



dont you mean buzz lightyear?