Art or Pornography?

Barbie, America’s first lady of plastic, has recently found herself the subject of a nude photo shoot in what some would call compromising positions. And, a federal judge recently ruled that the pictures of the buxom blonde are protected by the First Amendment, therefore, her sometimes over-protective parent, toy manufacturer Mattel, can do nothing to stop them.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Lew, dismissed Mattel’s copyright infringement lawsuit against Tom Forsythe, a Utah visual artist who has been producing naked photos of Barbie and friends. He ruled that because the pictures are a parody, they do not infringe on Mattel’s copyright and the toy manufacturer failed to prove it would suffer economically because of consumer confusion.

The Southern California Chapter of the ACLU helped to represent Mr. Forsythe in the case, and the group claims a "slam-dunk" victory for the First Amendment. "The court made clear that Mattel cannot use the legal system to silence artists who want to comment on and parody Mattel’s products," said Peter Eliasburg.