Guess what tech fans! Those Chinese tinkerers have made another copy of an Apple trademark that’s bound to cause a stir, if not entirely offend fanboys and turtle neck wearers everywhere.

Having already found success with the SciPhone and a full sized replica Apple store, those crown princes of piracy, the Chinese, have now created THE ULTIMATE ACTION FIGURE, in the form of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs. ACTION figure. ACTION… Steve Jobs?

Girls have their Barbies, boys have their Action Men and now, the long forgotten subset of androgynous hipsters that swathe around Shoreditch coffee houses will have their own doll to play and sexually experiment with.

Naturally, being an Apple product (albeit a fake Apple product) it’s ludicrously expensive, costing a whopping £65, doesn’t work with flash and it can’t play any real games. Not that you’d want it to play games, no, this action figure is all about the way it helps you do your design work, isn’t it?

You smarmy tit.

Rather predictably, Apple haven’t responded to this trademark infringement well. After all, what was Steve Jobs if not another trademark for Apple to profit off of?

Apple issued a statement to the Daily Mail, saying:

“Mr Jobs has not consented to the use of his name and/or image in the product.”

NO SHIT SHERLOCK, HE’S DEAD! We’re no experts, but we’re pretty sure it’s never going to be the easiest thing in the world for a Chinese company to obtain the image licensing rights to a deceased technology behemoth.

Aside from stating the obvious in the Mail, Apple are believed to have started legal proceedings against the two companies behind the Steve Jobs iAction figure, InIcon and Dragon in Dream.

They’re also rumoured to be preparing a press statement for the Independent that will confirm that the Pope is indeed a Catholic.

There are some people who say that you attract even more fame for yourself once you’ve kicked the bucket. Princess Diana, Elvis, 2pac, Marilyn Monroe and John Lennon all still have an iconic following.

This year, Heath Ledger unexpectedly joined that list after he died from an accidental drugs overdose. Hollywood was in shock as a talented young actor was taken away from us. The news also allowed a few inevitabilities, too. Actors and actresses would unite in grief – from those who had worked with him and those who hadn’t – and the unreleased films Ledger had been working on would be certain box office smashes, plus someone somewhere would cash in along the line. And we’ve just discovered what they'll be cashing in with.

The Heath Ledger doll.

This isn't a piss-poor attempt to make a six-inch figure of Heath Ledger himself, though. No, it’s actually Heath Ledger immortalised as The Joker from the upcoming Batman film.

So what we literally have is a toy depicting The Joker and all we have to do is imagine that this is Heath Ledger. Will the box literally say on the front 'The Joker from Batman The Dark Knight – as played by Heath Ledger . You know the guy who died shortly after filming. It made the news and everything'?

Whilst we know that new Batman dolls are realised each time a new film is released, it does seem somewhat dodgy to brand it as 'the Heath Ledger' doll. No other actors/actresses have had the character they played publicly branded on to the box to help shift a few more.

We’re positive that Arnold Schwarzenegger would have loved to put his name against his character Mr. Freeze in 1997’s crapfest that was Batman and Robin. 

Even more amazing is the fact that this isn’t the brainchild of the film's distributor Warner Brothers. While it'll always encourage anything to make itself money, the idea came from Ledger’s family. Let’s just hope they're just spreading the joy of their son to millions and not taking a cutting of any profit made. 

Still, it could have been worse. He could have been immortalised as one of those gay cowboys that would have only been available in specialist shops. If you know what we mean. 

Read more:

LEDGER DOLL TO GO ON SALE - Contactmusic