A court case arising out of the sale of T-shirts featuring an image of Marilyn Monroe has resulted in a New York ruling that Monroe's right of publicity ended with her death in 1962.

The dispute centred on an archive of photos of Monroe, including the image of her standing above a subway grate, shot by late celebrity photographer Sam Shaw.

Sam Shaw shot several versions of this image of Marilyn Monroe posing over the updraft of a New York subway grating for 1954's The Seven Year Itch. A court ruled Monroe's estate has no rights to the image.
(Sam Shaw/Associated Press)

Shaw's family licenses some of the famous images he shot, including one used on a T-shirt sold at discount store Target.

Monroe's estate had sued over the T-shirt, saying the actress's right of publicity was being violated because others were using her name, image and likeness for commercial purposes.

The original suit was filed in 2005 in Indiana, where the right of publicity is recognized after a person's death.

Shaw's family and others filed an action over the dispute in New York federal court and the case was transferred to New York.

New York does not allow postmortem right of publicity.

U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon ruled Wednesday that at the time of her death, Monroe did not have any postmortem right of publicity under the law of any relevant state, including California, where she died, and New York, her legal place of residence.

California did not move to recognize right of publicity after a celebrity's death until 1984.

McMahon acknowledged there was a question over whether New York or California law should apply, but ruled that "there is absolutely no doubt that Monroe was not domiciled in Indiana."