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Marilyn Monroe's Estate Loses Rights To Photos After Fighting To Make Her A New Yorker
from the figure-this-one-out dept
It appears Marilyn Monroe's estate didn't think all the way through its strategy of posthumously moving the famed star to New York. Apparently, her family convinced California tax authorities that Monroe had been a New York resident, in an attempt to avoid paying taxes on the estate in California. Unfortunately for the estate, that would also mean that Marilyn Monroe's publicity rights died with her. As Against Monopoly points out in the latest example of the bizarre effects of intellectual property rules, California allows "rights of publicity" to live on after death -- meaning that images of famous people still need to be licensed. However, New York says your right of publicity dies when you die. So, a court has now ruled that, thanks to Monroe's own estate claiming that she was a New Yorker, there's no longer a right of publicity for Monroe, and photographers who own Monroe photographs shouldn't have to pay her estate (as they've done since her death). This has photographers claiming that the estate has been unfairly demanding licenses for many years. Next time, perhaps Monroe's estate will just pay the taxes it owes. But, in the meantime, we get to see the bizarre impact of rules such as "publicity rights" which have forced photographers to pay to use photographs they took for many years.
Reader Comments
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I think some lawyers are in trouble today.
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some one messed up baddd
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Sounds like the kind of logic trap you see witnesses stumble into in courtroom dramas. If you're going to play the technicalities, you'd better understand *all* the technicalities.
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Leeches
Now go get a job and EARN a living instead of living off the royalties of your long-lost relative Marilyn.
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Marilyn Monroe Liberation
There is a famous tale that comes to mind immediately. 'The Fisherman and his wife.' Anna Strasberg is lead character, she wants more more more and is never happy, and in the end--she lost it all. Brilliant!
What an embarrassment and what a silent payback by an American Legend who has been used as the goose that is laying golden eggs for the past 26 years for Anna Strasberg, the licensing lawyers Roger Richman (who changed the CA law) and Mark Roesler, who was knowingly and happily Marilyn Monroe into a cheap bag lady--reigning for 11 years over what he calls the icon 'his product.'
Bittersweet symphony and now these greedy abusers of La Monroe will find another victim, but we all know: There was only one Marilyn and she will recover from the tacky salt and pepper shaker image.
She will have the biggest renaissance, the biggest comeback that any star, living or dead ever had.
Marilyn Monroe is here to stay.
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Re: Marilyn Monroe Liberation
http://www.pr-inside.com/marilyn-monroe-liberation-r527387.htm
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Marilyn Monroe
Since reason would state that you can't become a New Yorker after death, she must have been a New Yorker since before that. So this should be retroactive and the family should have to pay back all the license money it's made on her since her death. On the other hand, what would happen if, for instance, she died in New York but now her relatives moved her to California and said she was always a Californian, thus people still have to pay licensing on her image. Would that work the same way?
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Re: Marilyn Monroe
her family never received her money, her real daughter and family were disregarded by the strasbergs. even in her will the longest probate in history it states she was a new yorker at death....an abomination of justice see her real daughters web page at www.marilynmonroefoundation
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Clear this up for me...
...Hello, I own a very candid photo of Ms Monroe as she was out on the town in her natural habitat... according to your article, a license to market her on products is no longer required...
Thank You...
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The Marilyn Monroe estate and her rightful heirs her real family
I've read about Nancy Maniscalco Miracle and the Marilyn Monroe Foundation. It seems she is the only natural heir to the estate of Marilyn Monroe and those monies and rights were stolen from her by the Strasbergs Lee first now Ana his third wife. They switch jurisdictions for over forty years like we, the regular people switch socks. It seems they are able to do this because of the circumstances of her death, which they and their psychiatrist friends were partly responsible for. Maybe soon justice will prevail and Nancy Miracle will be reinbursed.
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Re: The Marilyn Monroe estate and her rightful heirs her real family
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Psh....Plesase
Marilyns pix should be allowed viewd by the public for free
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how do I get my name entered into what is mine
My mother didn't leave it to lee. That was a lie. I am her daughter. My mother Marilyn left it to me and they were to only be into the estate until I turned 18. they forged and lied to me
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