Judge rejects Monroe claim to photographer profits

NEW YORK, May 5 (Reuters) Marilyn Monroe's right to a cut of the profits from those who photographed her died with the actress in 1962, a US federal judge ruled.

The legal dispute centered on the iconic images of the blond actress posing with her skirt blowing up that were captured by the photographer Sam Shaw during the filming of ''The Seven Year Itch'' in 1954.

Judge Colleen McMahon ruled yesterday that the Monroe estate cannot claim Monroe's publicity rights because any rights the actress failed to assert during her life ''were extinguished by her death.'' ''Ms. Monroe could not devise by will a property right she did not own at the time of her death,'' McMahon said.

Rights to Shaw's pictures, which are featured on a T-shirt sold by the discount retailer Target, are controlled by the late photographer's estate.

In 2005, the Monroe estate filed a complaint saying that Monroe's ''right of publicity'' was violated because the T-shirt used her images for commercial gain.

The complaint was filed in Indiana, where a postmortem right of publicity is recognized. But the case was moved to U.S. District Court in New York, which does not recognize a postmortem right of publicity, because New York was Monroe's legal place of residence, according to court papers.

The attorney representing the Monroe estate was not immediately available for comment.

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