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"To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee is suing a museum in her hometown of Monroeville, Ala., to stop it from selling souvenirs with her name and the title of her Pulitzer Prize-winning book.
The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in Mobile, said the Monroe County Heritage Museum has traded on Lee’s fame without her approval and without compensating her. It seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
“Every single statement in the lawsuit is either false, meritless, or both,” museum attorney Matt Goforth said in an email Friday.
The suit comes after Lee sought a federal trademark for the title of her book when it’s used on clothing. The museum opposed her application, saying its souvenir sales are vital to its continued operation. A ruling is over a year away.
Lee’s book is set in fictional Maycomb County, but her suit says the setting was inspired by the real Monroe County where she lives in south Alabama. The museum in Monroeville has displays honoring her and presents the play “To Kill a Mockingbird” each summer in the old county courthouse courtroom, which served as a model for the movie’s courtroom. The museum pays royalties for using the play, and that is not an issue in the suit.
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