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"And assuming we could make the case he owns
his reputation, he's really given it up to the public domain,"
Weinberg says. "In IP (intellectual property) law, if you don't
exercise control over other people's uses of your reputation, you
end up essentially abandoning your right to claim royalties."
Santa's failure to send cease-and-desist letters to Tim Allen for
portraying him in the movies was the final mistake.
Bottom line: Santa earns $9,264,000
annually. Weinberg's former clients, the Muppets, are actually richer than Santa.
Expenses
Santa's gift-giving extravaganza certainly has come a long way from
the days Ralphie yearned for a Red Ryder BB gun. Twenty-first century
kids crave everything from interactive musical chairs to PlasmaCars.
Using Dr. Toy's lists of top toys in 2007 for infants through age
6 -- face it, after that they stop believing in Santa, so the big
guy is off the hook -- we determined the average price per toy.
One request per customer, please. The damage looks like this:
 |
| Average cost per present |
|
|
| Age |
Average cost per present |
Number of children
in 2000 U.S. Census Bureau |
Total dollar cost |
|
So Santa spends $778,005,690, which qualifies him
for the free shipping deals. Lest you think him a spendthrift, these
prices also reflect the lowest available on comparison-shopping
Internet sites, and he has been known to shave a few additional
bucks by watching the Sunday newspaper ads.
The staff at InsureMyTrip.com
say baggage coverage for these presents would be written as a cargo policy through
Lloyds of London, priced at 15 percent of value, so he needs to budget $116,700,850
for the journey. On the other hand, "Santa's never missed a Christmas, even
when Rudolph's nose was on the blink, so trip cancellation coverage is not an
issue," says Vikki Corliss, a spokeswoman for the Internet site.
With bird flu and other crazy diseases flying
about, medical and medical evacuation coverage are critical this
year. He can lock in a $2 million medical and $2 million medical
evacuation policy for a mere $129 premium for the night. Corliss
says her company would be pleased to cover the cost of the personal
policies in exchange for an InsureMyTrip.com logo on the side of
Santa's sleigh.
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