Our hamster toy looks nothing like Fox News anchor, says Hasbro in response to lawsuit
Image of the Hasbro toy “Harris Faulkner” from court documents.
A hamster toy manufactured by Hasbro Inc. shares a Fox News anchorwoman’s name. But it looks nothing like Harris Faulkner, the award-winning anchor of Fox Report Weekend, and hence her lawsuit against the toymaker must fail, the company argues in a motion to dismiss (PDF) filed last week.
Citing the toy’s golden fur, pink nose and white muzzle, among other features, Hasbro says no reasonable person could mistake the “inch-tall, cartoon-like plastic animal, which has no apparent gender or profession, or even clothing that might identify its gender or profession,” for Faulkner, reports Courthouse News.
Fox News anchorwoman Harris Faulkner.
To assert a viable right-of-publicity claim, the plaintiff must show that his or her identity has been misappropriated, not simply his or her name, Hasbro says.
Filed in August in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, Faulkner’s suit seeks $5 million in damages. It alleges that the hamster toy does resemble her, pointing to the “tone of its complexion, the shape of its eyes and the design of its eye makeup,” the Courthouse News article notes.
Hasbro no longer sells the toy, which was part of its “Littlest Pet Shop: Pets Pawsabilities” line.
A hearing will be held in December, a NBC News story reports.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “News anchor sues Hasbro over hamster toy, calls look-alike rodent with same name ‘demeaning’”
