In a ruling that angered some Marvel Comics fans, the U.S. Court of International Trade declared the X-Men characters to be "nonhuman creatures" rather than humans with special mutant powers. The classification was sought by a Marvel affiliate that imported X-Men action figures. Customs law specifies that imports of human "dolls" are taxed at 12 percent while nonhuman "toys" are taxed at 6.8 percent.

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