Ecce Homo!

On January 3, Judge Judith Barzilay declared that X-Men are not human.

Judge Barzilay, of the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York City, has ruled in a case brought in 1996 by Toy Biz against U.S. Customs, that their X-Men action figures are "toys", which depict animals, robots, monsters, and other creatures, and which at the time were subject to a 6.8% tarrif rate. Depictions of humans are classified as "dolls" and were subject to a 12% import duty.

From a WSJ article on January 20:

"The X-Men [comic book] series broke new ground when it began in 1963 by confronting racism and intolerance head-on. The good-hearted mutants rallied around their mentor, the wheelchair-bound Professor Charles Xavier, to protect mankind, even as humans shunned and despised them.

"[Judge Barzilay declared that] they are mutants who 'use their extraordinary and unnatural ... powers on the side of good or evil.' The judge observed how the character Storm, with her flowing white hair and dark skin, 'can summon storms at will,' while Pyro has a 'mutant ability to control and shape flames.'"

The ruling entitles Toy Biz to a partial refund of tarrifs paid on the imported action figures.

posted at 10:20 AM | link

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