If you ever wondered why you thought the Statue of Liberty Forever stamp from the post office looks kind of hot, its because the likeness isn’t of the real lady Liberty. Back in 2011, the US Postal Service released the stamp after choosing an image from hundreds of photos. Unfortunately, someone didn’t take a close enough look to realize the picture selected was of the Las Vegas version of the statue.
The artist, Robert Davidson, of the facade for the New York-New York Casino Resort on the Vegas strip noticed. Because the likeness used was his creation. According to his attorney, it was meant to be more "fresh-faced," "sultry" and even "sexier" than the original . . . because it’s Vegas. Mr. Davidson sued five years ago and has finally had his day in court.
It seems the Postal Service figured out three months after its release that the stamp was inaccurate. By then ten and a half billion of the stamps were produced, making it the largest run of an error on a postage stamp. Now it’s a costly one too. Federal Judge Eric Bruggink has ruled that the Postal Service must pay Robert Davidson 3.5 million dollars for use of the image. That’s a small slice of the 70 million dollars they made off the stamp. Even the judge noted she was a hotter version saying it was “highly unique and attractive.”
Does this mean stamp prices are going up again?
Source: NBC Washington D.C.