‘Virtual Marilyn’ LLC files lawsuit against Marilyn Monroe estate, Report

Here is your surreal legal fight of the day: “Virtual Marilyn LLC,” a company which owns ” a computer-generated virtual actress adopting the persona of Marilyn Monroe,” is suing The Estate of Marilyn Monroe, essentially demanding they shove off and quit interfering with their hologram.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Virtual Marilyn’s company claimed that it holds copyright registrations encompassing “audiovisual work and character artwork depicting a computer-generated virtual actress adopting the persona of Marilyn Monroe.”

According to the new lawsuit, Monroe’s estate, who has been threatening this virtual character for some time, conveyed that under the Lanham Act, use of Marilyn Monroe’s identity and persona without the her estate’s prior authorization constitutes unfair competition and false designation of origin and that its adversary couldn’t use or license “marks, names, logos, designs, avatars, or the like.”

So the company now owning “Virtual Marilyn” is going to court for declaratory relief.

Agencies/Canadajournal