Wheel of lawsuit

Did you know that in 1993 Vanna White sued Samsung Electronics alleging infringement of various intellectual property rights? It's true. In part, White alleged that Samsung infringed on her right of publicity by "appropriating her identity".

Want to know how they "appropriated her identity"? They aired a commercial with a ROBOT in a blonde wig and gown standing next to a big wheel. The caption underneath read "Longest Running game show: 2012 AD".

That's it. Essentially, making fun of the longevity of the show itself and not poor, mistreated Vanna. And yet she sued the electronics company for appropriating her identity in the form of a robot. Seriously? I mean, I am not even going to get into the legal issues involved here but rather just focus on the fact that this woman who makes a living (and a pretty nice one at that) pointing to a big-ass wheel took the time to meet with her lawyer about this robot. And then she took the time to sue the company. And then she took the time to go to trial because of a robot in a wig. I mean, seriously!! Was she afraid that people would confuse her with the robot? If so, I guess she has some bigger issues. Was she annoyed that Samsung seemed to be profiting off her image? But they could have put ANYTHING beside that wheel. They could have placed an elephant next to the wheel and we would get the connection because the reference is to the gameshow - not her. Would she have sued them for allegedly alluding to her as an elephant? What about a robot elephant?

If I ever run into Vanna on the street I am going to tell her that her unnecessary litigious nature makes me sad. But not before I ask her if it's really her I'm speaking with and not some crazy robot imitation version of Vanna White, cause I get confused like that. Most people would.