An embarrassing mistake involving a Statue of Liberty stamp could come back to haunt the U.S. Postal Service. 

The forever stamp design released in 2011 was not based on the statue in New York Harbor, as intended, but on a replica outside the New York-New York casino hotel in Las Vegas. Now, the sculptor who made the Lady Liberty of the Las Vegas Strip is suing the government for copyright infringement.

Attorneys for Robert Davidson argue in a suit filed last week that the Sin City statue was more "fresh-faced" and "sultry" than the original. They say these differences led the government to prefer Davidson's statue. A spokesman for the Postal Service did not immediately return calls. The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor has appeared on more than 20 stamps.

Davidson's attorneys say the Lady Liberty who welcomes weary gamblers has a more feminine form. The original, they say, was just an "inspiration" that provided "loose height, width and depth requirements." The claim notes that Davidson never visited the New York statue while creating his diminutive copy.

You be the judge.

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