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Thread
:
Hasbro fought the United States over whether G.I. Joe was a doll, or an action figure
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10-24-2021, 08:37 PM
Siegie
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: Phoenix
Posts: 21
I absolutely love this. Two United States judges have decreed “G.I. Joe: Legally a Doll”, which should have been their new tag line.
https://www.leagle.com/decision/1988...pp94111462.xml
Quick summary:
Throughout the 80’s, when Hasbro imported G.I. Joe figures to the US from their overseas manufacturers, they were paying higher tariff prices by having the figures classified as Item 737.24, “other dolls”.
Hasbro challenged that G.I. Joe wasn’t some dolly doll, and should be classified as Item A737.40, "toy figures of animate objects" (a duty-free classification).
So in 1988, several expensive lawyers argued before an actual judge, in the United States Court of International Trade, that G.I. Joe was not a doll.
They lost. And they should have. Animate objects is more like animals or fantasy creatures and junk. You can’t try to dodge rightfully paying taxes by saying “well it’s not a doll, because we say so, and also war, and boys, and cooties”.
In his opinion memorandum, Judge Watson (who quoted seven G.I. Joe file cards in their entirety) stated that an object made in the likeness of a human, which was created with the intent of a child playing with it, fit the definition of “doll” for trade purposes.
He correctly pointed out that the entire creation and emphasis of the term “action figure”, was to avoid being called a doll, because people would otherwise make that logical conclusion in describing the toys.
I actually find the final section of Judge Watson’s opinion… kind of moving in a cheesy way. He wrote:
“Further, for what it is worth, the Court notes that this classification does not in any way detract from the respect which these figures deserve as representations of the human participants in the never-ending struggle between good and evil. Henceforth, each and every one of these figures must accept the fact that, for tariff purposes and by judicial decision, they must face the world as "real American dolls." Hopefully, they will meet this decision as to their tariff classification with courage and pride.”
A judge wrote and published that, as a legal opinion from a United States Court with a capital C.
Siegie
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