Monroe, Ledger and the Right of Publicity

Marilyn Monroe was a New Yorker, not a resident of California, when she died. If this ruling by a U.S. District Court stands, Monroe's estate no longer will be able to make money licensing her image. In New York, unlike California, a celebrity's right of publicity ends at death.

Post-mortem tax planning by Monroe's executor was a factor in the court's decision: "In the 1960s, the judge noted, the executor . . . told California tax authorities that Ms. Monroe was a New York resident, so as to limit the California inheritance taxes owed by the estate."

Heath Ledger's estate could be rolling in money, writes the Sidney Morning Herald. Ledger's most memorable role since Brokeback Mountain may be his posthumous performance as The Joker in the upcoming Batman flick, The Dark Knight.

Ledger's estate, the SMH assumes, will have no problem cashing in on his right of publicity:

While it seems far too soon to contemplate for Ledger, stars can still be hot properties in the US even after death.

The management and marketing company CMG Worldwide represents the estates of close to 250 famous personalities from entertainment, sport and other fields. Only 50 are still alive.

The company's stable of what are discreetly called "celebrities of yesterday" includes James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Errol Flynn, Malcolm X, Amelia Earhart, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jack Dempsey and Chuck Berry.

It negotiates more than 2000 deals a year for advertising campaigns, merchandising (including T-shirts, calendars, jewellery and more unlikely items such as boogie boards and oven mitts), video games, music videos and occasionally cameos in new movies.

Whatever the value of Ledger's estate, it is expected to benefit his daughter, Matilda. But wait! What if Heath left another daughter?