chicky_pie
POTATO HEAD ROXON
The family of the Aboriginal inventor and writer pictured on the $50 note have called on PayPal to pull down its "degrading" and "disrespectful" ads that deface their grand-uncle's image.
PayPal, the online payments service owned by eBay, is running a widespread ad campaign on the sides of buses featuring images of the $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes.
PayPal super-imposed police and military helmets on each of the individuals pictured on the notes to imply enhanced safety and fraud protection for its users.
Well-known Aboriginal activist Allan Campbell and his brother John, great-nephews of David Unaipon, who is pictured on the $50 note, were shocked to learn their uncle's image had been used in that way.
"It is very disrespectful because for a start no Aboriginal people have a helmet - we're not bikies and we're not Vikings," said Allan, 61, from Murray Bridge in South Australia.
John, 50, said PayPal should have contacted his family first to ask for permission and, in any case, he would not have agreed to let them use the image in such a "disrespectful" way.
"I think that's very degrading," he said.
PayPal spokeswoman Kelly Stevens said the ads were "perfectly legal".
Separately, the brothers are already embroiled in a battle with the Reserve Bank over the use of Unaipon's image on the currency, alleging permission to use the image was given by a woman posing as a relative.
Allan and the Reserve Bank met for over four hours last Thursday to discuss Allan's claim for compensation.
According to Allan, the Reserve Bank accepted that he was Unaipon's great-nephew but did not agree that the woman was not a relative, rejecting the compensation claim.
The Reserve Bank has confirmed that the talks took place but would not provide further details about the meeting.
The brothers are now planning to take the Reserve Bank to court in January.
Allan has been a lifelong campaigner for Aboriginal rights and played a significant role in the 1972 tent embassy built on the lawns of parliament house.
Unaipon, who died in 1967, was awarded 10 patents for inventions including a sheep shearing machine and a multi-radial wheel but did not have enough money to get them developed. He was also a prominent spokesman for the Aboriginal people and the first Aboriginal writer to be published.
According to the Reserve Bank's biography of Unaipon: "He gained a reputation at the time of being 'Australia's Leonardo' for his promotion of scientific ideas. As early as 1914, Unaipon anticipated the helicopter, applying the principle of the boomerang."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/home/tec...g-in-on-legends/2008/12/02/1227980000056.html
First they want to sue the reserve bank for using one of their relatives image on our $50 notes, now they're likely to sue PayPal.
Yay, when you're lazy to work or find a job, sue people who have money.
