The estates of two photographers closely associated with Marilyn Monroe have won the rights to freely license their images of the actress. In March, a federal court judge in California clarified the Right of Publicity for the Milton H. Greene Archives and Tom Kelley Studios.
Previously, rights had been claimed by Marilyn Monroe LLC (MMLLC) and CMG Worldwide, making it difficult for the Greene Archives and Kelley Studios to license many images. A May 2007 court decision ruled that Monroe had no publicity rights to her image. The most recent litigation revolved around MMLLC's and CMG's argument that, at the time of her death in 1962, Monroe was residing in California, meaning the state was considered Monroe's permanent home.
If so, MMLLC and CMG would have rights to her image. Judge Margaret Morrow ruled that MMLLC and CMG claims were inconsistent.
Kelley's images of Monroe include several photos of the actress when she first broke into Hollywood, including nudes from the "Red Velvet Collection," which were later used in the premiere issue of Playboy magazine. The Greene photographs depict a more mature, established Monroe.
The two archives have banded together under the newly formed Legends Licensing LLC (legendslicensing.com) to license their images.
