Madonna allegedly used Marlon Brando's image without the permission of the estate.

Madonna sued for allegedly using Marlon Brando’s image on tour

January 25, 2013 5:23 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Famed pop star Madonna is currently in the midst of settlement talks with the late  Marlon Brando’s estate, which demanded millions of dollars from the singer after she showed a picture of the actor during concert performances, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Brando’s image was part of the act when she performed the song “Vogue” onstage. However, in order to do so legally, she needed to have permission from the estate of the deceased celebrity, which she allegedly did not have. Madonna had previously agreed to pay $5,000 each to the estates of celebrities whose images she used in her act, including James Dean, Jean Harlow and Ginger Rogers.

The representatives for Marlon Brando, however, had upped their demands to $20,000 each, the news source stated. On top of this, most favored nation contractual clauses would have required her to pay the same amount to each of the other  estates. Madonna allegedly used the actor’s image on tour regardless, which led to the  lawsuit being filed against her this past October, according to The Wrap.

“[Madonna] intentionally, negligently, and/or willingly used the Brando IP Assets for the purposes of attracting attention to the Tour, to the individual concerts and to the song ‘Vogue’ itself and for the purpose of enhancing the advertising and marketing thereof,” the Brando estate said in filed testimony.

Arizona businesses must ensure property rights much like the Brando estate

Arizona companies would be wise to work with business attorneys from Phoenix law offices whenever their intellectual property rights are not used appropriately by other parties. It is important to keep track of one’s patents and adhere to copyright laws in order to ensure that all profits from a product are returned to the rightful owner of the intellectual property. Estate laws in Arizona also vary from that of other regions and working with business lawyers experienced in such matters could provide a boon to one’s company.

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