<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  These days, Marlon Brando&amp;#039;s name pops up in the news more often than in the last, reclusive years of the actor&amp;#039;s life. While Brando died in 2004, his estate has vigorously and litigiously sought to protect his image. The latest target is Madonna, who uses Brando&amp;#039;s imagein concert performances of her song &amp;quot;Vogue&amp;quot; \u2014 alongside images of other deceased celebrities, including Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. CMG Worldwide cleared the rights with the celebrity estates, agreeing to pay each estate $5,000. According to CMG, it had come to the same agreement with Brando&amp;#039;s estate, only to see the estate&amp;#039;s representatives demand $20,000. And because of contractual agreements, were CMG to pay $20,000 to one artist&amp;#039;s estate, it would have to pay the same to every other one \u2014 so CMG sued Brando&amp;#039;s estate. And the estate fired back with its own lawsuit against Madonna, seeking $1 million for each willful use of Brando&amp;#039;s image. The terms of the settlement haven&amp;#039;t been disclosed. As for punitive damages, perhaps Madonna&amp;#039;s reps will be forced to sit through a screening of the Island of Dr. Moreau. But this is just the latest in a string of legal battles Brando&amp;#039;s estate has had to fight in the last decade. In 2011, Brando&amp;#039;s estate sued Harley-Davidson Motor Company over &amp;quot;The Brando,&amp;quot; a line of boots that resembled those that Brando wore in his 1953 biker-gang flic, The Wild One. Harley-Davidson paid an undisclosed sum in a settlement. That same year, the estate also sued a Florida furniture company for it&amp;#039;s unauthorized &amp;quot;Brando&amp;quot; line. (&amp;quot;He coulda been a credenza,&amp;quot; was how The Daily reported the story, winking to On the Waterfront.) The furniture company forked over $356,000 in a settlement. The estate is also involved in legal battles with would-be contenders, including the ex-wife of Brando&amp;#039;s son Christopher, who died in 2008. She has fruitlessly sought to be included in the estate, alleging that a codicil to Brando&amp;#039;s will had been forged. But California courts ruled that she had no standing to make the challenge.  In 2009, The New York Times reported that 26 legal cases involving Brando&amp;#039;s estate had been opened since late 2003. At the time of his death, the estate was valued at $21.6 million. Follow The Culture Blog on RSS and on Twitter at @ESQCulture. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a18274/marlon-brando-estate-lawsuits-15008372/>