U.S. Court: Marilyn Monroe's estate can't block photo sales by Milton Greene Archives

Art Daily News

File photo of gallery curator Anna Wolska presenting a photo of Marylin Monroe. AP Photo/Alik Keplicz. By: Paul Elias, Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP).- A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Marilyn Monroe's estate is powerless to stop a California company from selling her images without its permission. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that The Milton Greene Archives can continue to sell iconic images of the actress without paying her estate for publicity rights. The ruling hinged on Monroe's legal residency. She owned a home in California and an apartment in New York when she died in Los Angeles in 1962. Her estate at the time claimed Monroe was a New York resident to avoid paying California inheritance taxes. The court ruled that her estate can't now claim Monroe was a California resident to take advantage of a state law granting posthumous rights of publicity to the famous. With the estate's active backing, the state Legislature passed the law in 2007. New York has no such law. "Monroe's representatives took one position on ... More