Donald Trump s Mug Shot Merchandise

Donald Trump's Mug Shot Merchandise Move May Cost Him His $7 Million Profit
Story by Kristyn Burtt •
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Donald Trump's Mug Shot Merchandise Move May Cost Him His $7 Million Profit
Donald Trump's Mug Shot Merchandise Move May Cost Him His $7 Million Profit
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Leave it to Donald Trump to try and make money off of his Fulton County mug shot while possibly violating U.S. copyright law at the same time. The former president knew his voter base would eagerly buy merchandise with his face boldly emblazoned on it, but his lawyers should have checked on the legalities of this first.

According to Politico, Donald Trump earned over $7 million in sales, from t-shirts to the “Never Surrender” coffee mugs, in the first week after he was indicted in the Georgia election interference case. However, a 2022 article in the University of Georgia School of Law’s Journal of Intellectual Property Law noted, “In the context of photographs taken by law enforcement during the booking process, the author of the mugshot photograph is the law enforcement agency.”

 Booking photo of Donald J. Trump Booking Photo as provided by the Fulton County Sheriff;;;‚¬;„;s Office in Fulton County in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday August 24, 2023.
Booking photo of Donald J. Trump Booking Photo as provided by the Fulton County Sheriff;;;‚¬;„;s Office in Fulton County in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday August 24, 2023.
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That could mean that if the Fulton County sheriff wants to go after Donald Trump for those profits, he might have the legal ground to do so. And as MSNBC pointed out, Fulton County “just happens to be in desperate need of funds to address the horrific conditions in the Fulton County Jail.” It could be the perfect storm of legal events for the former president, who is already in enough hot water.

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Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
Story by Melissa Koenig •
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The Trump campaign may have violated United States copyright law by selling merchandise featuring the former president’s mugshot, legal experts have warned.

The Republican frontrunner’s campaign wasted no time capitalizing off the mugshot he took at the Fulton County Jail, featuring the former president scowling into the camera.

Merchandise emblazoned with the historic photo and the slogan “Never surrender” were quickly hawked for between $12 and $34.

Within just three days, the Trump campaign made $7.1 million off of the merch, which included t-shirts, mugs, koozies, and bumper stickers.

But legal scholars say that money may rightfully belong to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, which took the photo, as US Copyright Law stipulates that the law enforcement agency that takes a mugshot is the legal owner of it.

“In the context of photographs taken by law enforcement during the booking process, the author of the mugshot photograph is the law enforcement agency,” the 2022 University of Georgia School of Law’s Journal of Intellectual Property Law states.

As such, Betsy Rosenblatt, a professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law, says there are limitations to what people may do with the photograph.

Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
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The Trump campaign has been fundraising off the mugshot he took at the Fulton County Jail on Aug. 24.FULTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE/AFP via Getty Images
Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
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The Trump campaign began selling t-shirts, bumper stickers and mugs with the former president’s mugshot on it.TRUMP 2024
“You’re prohibited from using it for a number of things without authorization,” she told Spectrum News 1 Ohio.

“You’re prohibited from reproducing it, making a derivative work of it, distributing it without authorization, or that is to say distributing anything that isn’t the one copy you already lawfully have, and various other things. Making a public display of it, making a public performance of it, which opens up all kinds of fascinating possibilities here.”

The Trump campaign did not make any alterations to the mugshot, so he cannot claim that he substantially altered it from its original in a way to create something new, MSNBC’s Dean Obeidallah said.

Since the campaign is profiting off the image, they also cannot claim fair use, Obeidallah added.

Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
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Legal experts say the mugshot belongs to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, and as such people and entities are limited in what they can do with it.REUTERS
The Trump campaign appeared to be aware of the potential legal violation, when Chris LaCivita, one of Trump’s top advisers, tweeted on Aug. 24: “If you are a campaign, PAC, scammer and you [are] try raising money off the mugshot of @realDonaldTrump and you have not received prior permission …WE ARE COMING AFTER YOU you will NOT SCAM DONORS.”

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It would ultimately be up to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, though, to decide whether to sue the Trump campaign and any others who have used the mugshot for financial gain.

The department may decide it is “not going to undertake the expense and trouble of hiring copyright counsel and sending out takedowns and cease and desist letters, or in lawsuits,” Rosenblatt said.

On the other hand, MSNBC reports, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office may decide the millions made off the photo rightfully belongs to them — at a time when it is in desperate need of funds to address the horrific conditions at the Fulton County Jail.

Just recently, Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat pleaded with commissioners for funds he said he desperately needs for the prison, describing how “hundreds of toilets and sinks” are out of order.

Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
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The Trump campaign previously warned others not to use the former president’s mugshot to make money.REUTERS
Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
Trump may have violated copyright law by selling mugshot merchandise
© Provided by New York Post
It would ultimately be up to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, though, to decide whether to sue the Trump campaign and any others who have used the mugshot for financial gain.REUTERS
“It’s a human crisis, and I have been begging for the resources for 887 days,” he told the commission, according to 11 Alive.

“I’m really, really tired of begging for money to do my job.”

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the allegations. The Post has also reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

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Donald Trump’s Mugshot GENIUS? – Read How the Trump Campaign Is Turning His Jailtime Photoshoot Into a Campaign Jackpot
Story by Ollie Dennis •
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Donald Trump’s Mugshot GENIUS? – Read How the Trump Campaign Is Turning His Jailtime Photoshoot Into a Campaign Jackpot
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Donald Trump’s Mugshot GENIUS? – Read How the Trump Campaign Is Turning His Jailtime Photoshoot Into a Campaign Jackpot
Trump revealed his iconic mugshot in style, combining the revelation with a shocking tweet that read the words “Never Surrender.” With Democrats hoping it would be the end of his political career, Trump and his marketing hope to have made it the complete opposite.

Trump had been booked into that notoriously dirty prison on Aug. 24 on 13 counts of allegedly tampering in Georgia’s 2020 election.

He has vehemently denied wrongdoing and decried the ordeal as “election interference.”