The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) made a mistake back in 2010 that is costing it $3.5 million today.
The mistake made by the USPS was including a picture of the Statue of Liberty on its Forever stamps back in 2010. Expect that it wasn’t the actual Statue of Liberty that it used a picture of for the stamp.
The picture on the stamp was actually that of the replica that sits outside the New York-New York casino hotel in Las Vegas. The replica is smaller than the original Statue of Liberty and has a different face. Robert Davidson, the sculptor of the replica, sued the USPS for using an image of his statue without his permission.
Unfortunately for the USPS, a judge has sided with Davidson, saying that his statue is an original work. This means that the USPS is going to have to pay the sculptor $3.5 million for its mistake. On the bright side, it made a total of $70 million in profit off of the stamp, which was in circulation until 2014, reports USA Today.
“The portion used was entirely of what we consider to have been the original work contributed by Mr. Davidson. The government’s only real defense is that its use did not particularly harm plaintiff’s business as an industrial sculptor,” Judge Eric Bruggink said in a statement obtained by CNN. “That may be true, but we also note that it certainly did not benefit him. The Postal Service offered neither public attribution nor apology.”
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
