NAMES IN THE NEWS : Monroe Coin May Cost France
A lawyer acting on behalf of Marilyn Monroe’s relatives and beneficiaries has asked the French Coins and Medals Administration to pay compensation for an unauthorized commemorative coin with her likeness, aides to the attorney said Wednesday.
Los Angeles attorney Roger Richman contends that the medal, struck in 1985, was distributed for two years before the Monroe estate in June, 1987, applied successfully to French authorities to copyright all reproductions of Marilyn’s likeness in France. The actress died in 1962. The Coins and Medals Administration says the coin was minted as part of a series about the history of cinema.
Richman said the coin was brought to his attention when it appeared on sale recently in Japan.
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