Apple's legal eagles have moved against a Canadian eBay seller of the now rare Steve Jobs figurine selling for $1,125 on eBay. Shortly after the item was sold, eBay allegedly canceled the listing according to reports.
We first broke the story on December 16th, citing sellers listing little Steve Jobs on eBay for upwards of $2,500, which immediately caused an eBay listing frenzy for the item by several owners of the Hong Kong made figurine.
A note from eBay made it clear that the auction giant had removed the listing due to a direct complaint received from Apple. The object for sale "violates a celebrity's right of publicity." according to eBay.
"Your item was removed because of a request we received from Apple, Inc., a member of our Verified Rights Owner Program (VeRO), asking us to remove the item for: Item(s) violates a celebrity's right of publicity."
Several Steve Jobs figurines listed for sale on eBay have now been removed in what appears to be a global sweep of the ultra-rare Jobsian collectible on the wildly popular auction website.
A newer "Buy It Now" eBay listing on Dec. 21, made it clear; "APPLE HAD ALL STEVE JOBS ACTION FIGURE AUCTIONS REMOVED! BUY IT NOW SO YOU CAN GET ONE! HURRY! NO GUARANTEE THAT THIS AUCTION WILL RUN A FULL DAY!"
While there is no official word from Apple on this grand buffoonery, eBay sellers should take the action as fair warning that the likeness of Steve Jobs will not be sold at any price. Christmas is officially cancelled. Bah! Humbug!
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