MOVIES - April 1, 1987

A statue of Oscar by any other name is still copyrighted, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday when it went to court to stop a Santa Monica store from selling crystal souvenir statuettes. Just hours before the ceremony to announce the Oscar winners, the Academy filed suit in U.S. District Court against the shop, called the Crystal Closeout Palace Inc. Sales clerks have stopped identifying the statues as “Oscars,” instead referring to them as “You know whos,” according to the $50,000 suit. But Arnold Siegel, the shop’s owner, said Tuesday his store would continue to sell the $30 statuettes until served with a cease-and-desist order. “They’re a very popular item for us,” Siegel said.