Photo library can license Marilyn Monroe images, court rules
Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell in a scene from their 1955 film The Seven Year Itch. Reuters pic
Milton H. Greene Archives Inc has been in a long-running court battle with Anna Strasberg, widow of Monroes acting coach, Lee Strasberg, and her licensing agent CMG Worldwide, which controlled use of Monroes image for years.
In a ruling yesterday, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in California backed a lower court decision that allowed Greene Archives to license its images of Monroe.
The stars estate, however, said it still retained exclusive rights to the film stars likeness under federal law.
Greene was a fashion and celebrity photographer who became friends with Monroe during a photo shoot, and the two formed a film production company.
At one point, Monroe lived with Greene and his family at their Connecticut farmhouse, where he produced several photographs of the star. Greene died in 1985.
The legal battle over Greenes images hinged on where Monroe was living at the time of her death on Aug 5, 1962, at age 36.
The court ruled Monroe resided in New York and, therefore, she did not have the posthumous right of publicity based on the states law.
Because no such right exists under New York law, Monroe LLC did not inherit it... and cannot enforce it against Milton Greene or others similarly situated, Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw wrote for the court.
Strasbergs Marilyn Monroe LLC sold its rights to the film stars persona in September 2010 to The Estate of Marilyn Monroe LLC, and Strasberg maintained a minority role.
In a statement yesterday, the estate said the appeals court decision affected only publicity rights under state law and that its federal r! ights remained valid.
The Estate still enjoys the exclusive right to use Marilyn Monroes signature, name, likeness, image, voice, or anything else associated with her persona.
An attorney for Milton H. Greene Archives could not immediately be reached.
Interest in Monroe remains high. She is the subject of NBC television drama Smash, a story about the making of a Broadway musical about the blonde bombshell, and last years film, My Week with Marilyn.
Several books about her were released around the anniversary of her death.
Forbes magazine ranked Monroe as the third-highest money-maker in its annual ranking of The Top-Earning Dead Celebrities, with income of US$27 million (RM84 million) last year, according to the court ruling.
Wardlaw wrote that the lengthy dispute over Monroes persona has ended in exactly the way that Monroe herself predicted more that 50 years ago, pointing to Monroes quote: I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else. Reuters