The “Marvelous Malia” and “Sweet Sasha” dolls are the newest additions to Ty Inc’s Ty Girlz collection.

But the company has stated that the fact that the dolls bear the same names as Malia and Sasha Obama is merely coincidental.

“It appears that Ty’s argument is going to be the dolls are not meant to look like [Sasha and Malia Obama], that they’re simply part of a product line it has,” said David Donahue of Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu. “Under the circumstances here, I would not want to stand before a court or jury and make that argument.”

Legal options for the Obamas could include right of publicity infringement claims or claims under the Lanham Act for false endorsement. Such strategies could face challenges, however.

Donahue said: “It would be an easier right of publicity claim for the Obamas if their last name were used. But even without the last name, given the timing of the product, I think Ty would have a tough time arguing that the dolls are not intended to evoke the Obama children.”

The issues of forced celebrity and the constant media coverage of the president’s daughters have already stoked a debate.

Some might argue that their public status empowers Ty to market the girls’ images. But, according to Donahue, whether the president’s daughters are public or private figures is secondary to the motivation of profit in producing the dolls.

“We wouldn’t be having this conversation if all [Ty] had done is written a book about Sasha and Malia,” said Donahue. “But with something like this that’s purely a commercial product, not some newsworthy piece on the children and their lives, First Amendment concerns are limited at best.”

Despite the lengthy statute of limitations for any claims filed by the Obamas, Donahue said the matter is unlikely to reach a courtroom.

“I don’t see it moving to litigation. The president has a lot of problems to deal with these days, and getting embroiled in litigation over dolls doesn’t seem like something that would be on the top of his to-do list.”

Ty did not immediately return calls for comment.