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Michelle Obama action figures: White House has no comment Michelle Obama "action figures" are slated to go on sale Nov. 20. Coming soon: a 6-inch plastic doll of Michelle Obama for $12.99, being billed as an "action figure." Sculptor Jason Feinberg of Brooklyn, N.Y., who's behind the dolls, admits the term "action figure" is used loosely. The first lady, after all, is featured in nothing more lethal than her trademark sleeveless dresses (and enviable biceps). Buyers may choose from among the purple dress she had on when the Obamas shared their campaign "fist bump," the red-and-black number from election night in Grant Park, or the black-and-white floral frock she favored for her appearance on "The View." Feinberg, founder and president of Jailbreak Toys, said he designed the dolls, which are made in China. He studied sculpture at Connecticut's Wesleyan University. Michelle Obama's office had no comment on the action figure, which is scheduled to go on sale Nov. 20. Public figures, especially those in politics, have fewer rights than average people when it comes to protecting use of their name or likeness, says Chicago attorney Marc Cooperman of Banner & Witcoff, an intellectual property firm. Courts generally hold they may be caricatured or criticized, he said. "The First Amendment is almost always going to win. That's the beauty of the American system." The doll's creator is in fact an Obama fan. "I'm hook, line and sinker for the Obamas," Feinberg says, " so I don't want to be a thorn in their side." He says sales of an earlier Jailbreak Toys offering, the Barack Obama "action figure," have reached 200,000 "and it's still selling."
