Milton H. Greene Archives, Inc. v. Marilyn Monroe LLC, No. 08-56471 (9th Cir. Aug. 30, 2012):

An enduring American celebrity, Marilyn Monroe continues
to inspire both admiration and litigation a half-century
after her death. At issue is whether appellants inherited a right of publicity, which was created and deemed posthumous
by the states of California and Indiana decades after her death,
through a residual clause in her Last Will and Testament. The
will was subject to probate in the state of New York, which
does not recognize a posthumous right of publicity. The issue
of appellants’ rights turns on whether Monroe was domiciled
in California or New York at the time of her death. We conclude
that because Monroe’s executors consistently represented
during the probate proceedings and elsewhere that she
was domiciled in New York at her death to avoid payment of
California estate taxes, among other things, appellants are
judicially estopped from asserting California’s posthumous
right of publicity. We therefore affirm the district court’s
order so holding. …

Because Monroe died domiciled in New York, New
York law applies to the question of whether Monroe LLC has
the right to enforce Monroe’s posthumous right of publicity.
Because no such right exists under New York law, Monroe
LLC did not inherit it through the residual clause of Monroe’s
will, and cannot enforce it against Milton Greene or others
similarly situated. We observe that the lengthy dispute over
the exploitation of Marilyn Monroe’s persona has ended in
exactly the way that Monroe herself predicted more that fifty
years ago: “I knew I belonged to the Public and to the world,
not because I was talented or even beautiful but because I had
never belonged to anything or anyone else.” 

• Courthouse News Service, Tax Maneuvers Cost Marilyn Monroe's Estate
• National Law Journal, Marilyn Monroe's Estate Didn't Inherit Her Publicity Rights, Ninth Circuit Rules
• Reuters, Photo Library Can License Marilyn Monroe Images, Court Rules

(Hat Tip: Bob Kamman.)