Curious George publisher may sue over T-shirt

[CatWoman]

The publishing company that owns the Curious George image says it is considering legal action to stop the sale of a T-shirt depicting Barack Obama as the monkey from children's books.

The T-shirts are being peddled by Marietta bar owner Mike Norman at his Mulligan's Bar and Grill in Cobb County. They show a picture of Curious Georgie peeling a banana, with the words "Obama '08" underneath.

Rick Blake, a spokesman for publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which owns Curious George, said Wednesday that the company didn't authorize the use of the character's image, but hasn't been in touch with anybody selling or manufacturing the shirts.

"We find it offensive and obviously utterly out of keeping with the value Curious George represents," Blake said. "We're monitoring the situation and weighing our options with respect to legal action."

Norman has said he got the T-shirts from someone in Arkansas. He started selling them at his bar -- known for the provocative, ultra-conservative political slogans often posted on signs out front -- in April but said he has no plans to mass market them.

The sales came to light this week when a loose coalition of local groups called a protest of the T-shirts.

About a dozen protestors rallied against the shirts Tuesday afternoon, condemning them as racist and asking Norman to stop selling them.

Norman acknowledged the imagery's Jim Crow roots but said he sees nothing wrong with depicting a prominent African-American as a monkey.

"We're not living in the (19)40's," he said. "Look at him . . . the hairline, the ears -- he looks just like Curious George."

Marietta native Pam Lindley, 47, joined Tuesday's protest after reading about the controversy.

"I don't want people to think this is what Marietta is all about," she added, motioning towards the tavern. "This is what some people think the South is still like. Marietta's come a long way but I guess it's still got a little ways to go."

She said she'd like to see the city ban Norman's provocative musings regularly posted on a sign out front of the bar, which is near Marietta's downtown square. Those who gathered Tuesday say they will continue their campaign against Norman's "hate speech."

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/05/13/mulligans_0514.html?imw=Y

[babylonsister]

1. Rec'd! Great news; he should. nt

[Hobarticus]

2. Curious George will get the last laugh on this asshole...

Wondered how long this would take to come to a head.

[lonestarnot]

3. Good.

[ThatsMyBarack]

4. On the Survivor finale the other night:

There was a kid in the NY audience wearing a T-shirt with Bush wearing Mickey Mouse ears!

[rhett o rick]

10. Is there a point hidden in your post somewheres??? nm

[ThatsMyBarack]

11. Does there have to be?

I thought it just spoke for itself. :shrug:

[rhett o rick]

13. No, no of course not. No point necessary. nm

[blondeatlast]

5. Lawyer up, Mr. Norman; You are going to need a HIGH-PRICED one, sir.

:rofl:

HM is one of the leading publishers of educational materials, I guarantee they want nothing to do with the bad publicity they'll get if the don't pursue this.

And, um, GO, HOUGHTON-MIFFLIN!

:woohoo:

[KamaAina]

6. Sue the racist creep for everything, including the white sheet -- and yesterday!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3278980&mesg_id=3278989

[CatWoman]

7. lol, Kama

maybe he's reading DU :)

:thumbsup:

[izquierdista]

8. Let's stop and think here

There could be a downside for a publishing company to sue a tavern. They wouldn't want bad publicity that would cause the tavern patrons and their sympathizers to stop buying books.........naaah, not a problem. :evilgrin:

[lpbk2713]

9. If they don't bring suit it would be the same as tacit approval.

And I doubt if they would want that impression to get around.

[Selatius]

12. Oh fucking hell no! And George W. Bush doesn't look like a fucking monkey? WTF???

[blondeatlast]

14. How can a white man look like a monkey? Think like your enemy--

oh, heck, please don't, it hurts my own head to do it, I don't wish it upon anyone else.

[Selatius]

16. Well, his face resembles that of a chimp. Some here call him the Chimperor.

I'm not trying to switch around an ugly racial caricature, but quite a few people have drawn a resemblance between Bush's face and a chimpanzee's, and the observation has been around since well before that hick bar owner made Obama monkey shirts.

[blondeatlast]

20. I know, friend. Sorry, I should've used this:

:sarcasm:

It's a sensitive subject--and I wasn't sensitive about it, just trying (poorly) to be clever.

Too late to edit: my ignorance is there for all the world to see. FWIW, I'm seething about this; I posted in nearly every thread about it yesterday.

[Truth2Tell]

15. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

doesn't mess around with this trademark either. They went after the band "Furious George" back in 1998:

"Curious George" is a best-selling children's book series. Furious George is a struggling punk rock band. You wouldn't necessarily confuse the two. George in the books is a monkey. George in the band is a person....

To the band, it's a parody. To Houghton Mifflin Company, publishers of ''Curious George'' since 1941, it's trademark infringement. The civil contest is being waged before the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trial and Appeal Board in Washington...

To the company, its winsome little troublemaker is an asset well worth protecting. Created in Paris more than 60 years ago by the husband and wife team of Margaret E. Rey and Hans Alfonso Rey, Germans who fled the Nazis, ''Curious George'' has since become a mini-industry, with six more titles by the Reys and 28 others by subsequent licensees. The books have sold more than 20 million copies in 12 languages worldwide and have spawned a variety of licensed products, including CD-ROMS, compact disks, key chains and T-shirts, which brought in more than $5 million in sales last year alone. In addition, a new ''Curious George'' movie, directed by Ron Howard and blending animated characters and live actors, is scheduled for release next year, Ms. Donovan said.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE6DD1339F93BA15752C1A96E958260

[Name removed]

17. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[riderinthestorm]

18. "Marietta's come a long way but I guess it's still got a little ways to go."

Uh, Marietta's got a LONG way to go, especially Mike Norman, if they've been tolerating "provocative, ultra-conservative" sloganeering in front of the tavern.... I'm sure much of the crap that's been posted on the guy's signage has been as offensive as the tee shirts but only NOW (some of) the residents are protesting?! That kind of hate speech should have been shut down a long time ago - like when it started!

[ellie]

19. Hahaha!

The only way repukes learn their lesson is by losing money.

[Catherine Vincent]

21. That there is your "ignorant white fuck"...

"We're not living in the (19)40's," he said. "Look at him . . . the hairline, the ears -- he looks just like Curious George."