Marilyn Monroe: Yankee or Golddigger?

“Now that image, which has earned millions in licensing fees for Marilyn Monroe’s estate, is free for all to use and sell.” So hails Dan Slater from The Wall Street Journal. A Los Angeles Federal District Court Judge has ruled that because Marilyn Monroe was a New York resident at the time of her death, California state laws regarding right of publicity do not apply. Thus, Marilyn is stuck with New York state laws which give a right of publicity to a living person. More interesting analysis on this from the Art Law Blog .