Arnold has filed a lawsuit
against Bosley Bobbing Head Doll Company in Los Angeles Superior Court
for using his unauthorized likeness on a plastic bobble head doll —
even though other politicians such as George W. Bush, as public
figures, do not have such control over their image.
"He’s no different than any other politician," said Todd Bosley, an
owner of Ohio Discount Merchandise Inc. in Canton, Ohio, who has
satirized George W. Bush, Abe Lincoln and Barbara Bush with the bobble
head.
Schwarzenegger has a right to go to court to say his image is harmed,
but just yesterday the Gov also hinted to the California Chamber of
Commerce that he would be joining Big Business in a November ballot
initiative to severely restrict lawsuits under the state’s unfair
business competition law. Today, environmentalists issued a statement
warning that the Chamber’s initiative would wipe out legitimate cases
over environmental harm. (See http://www.ecovote.org/news/release050504.html)
"We are warning California voters as early as possible that this
proposition is a sham," said Bill Magavern, Senior Legislative
Representative for Sierra Club California. "It is masquerading as a
balanced approach, but it is simply a move to allow polluters and big
business to put profits ahead of public health and safety without
consequences." Among the donors to the initiative are companies like
BP/Arco that has been held accountable under the unfair business
competition law for polluting.
If a plastic likeness of a public figure is unfair business, then isn’t
pollution of our water, air, and earth? Stay tuned for Arnold’s
decision about whether to side with environmentalists or the special
interests who gave both $940,000 to Arnold and $1.6 million to the
initiative to gut the state’s unfair business competition law. For more
on the public interest groups’ campaign against the initiative, visit http://www.electionwatchdog.org
