When Elvis Met Nixon: The Photographs

Overview: These photographs were taken by an official White House photographer when Elvis met with President Nixon in the Oval Office on Dec 21, 1970.

For the full background story, see When Elvis Met Nixon on the Smithsonian web site and When Nixon Met Elvis on the National Archives web site.

Elvis Presley Enterprises v. Sid Shaw Elvisly Yours (1997) (U.K. Case)

Overview: This case is virtually identical to the U.S. case, but was held in the U.K. This time, with Elvisly Yours as plaintiff, the court ruled in favor of Elvisly Yours, unlike in the American case.

Elvis Presley Enterprises appealed the ruling of the High Court (below) but, in 1999, the Court of Appeals dismissed their appeal, ruling in favor of Sid Shaw and Elvisly Yours.

The Elvis Presley FBI Files: Part 1 of 12

This is the first set of papers released from the FBI vault that involve Elvis.

Though Elvis wasn't actually investigated by the FBI, he appears in several of their files, covering the years 1956-1980. These files contain information regarding extortion attempts that targeted Elvis (which were investigated by the FBI), correspondence from members of the public expressing concern over Elvis' stage performances and music (which make fascinating reading towards the end of the PDF file!), as well as letters related to Elvis' wish to meet J. Edgar Hoover, the first Director of the FBI.

In total, there are 663 pages of documents. This first set contains 51 pages.

Elvis Presley Enterprises v. Elvisly Yours (1991) (U.S. Case)

Overview: Assignee of trademarks of Elvis Presley sues U.K. company selling Elvis Memorabilia for trademark infringement, violations of Tennessee common law, and statutory rights of publicity. Court (1987) originally found in favor of plaintiff, EPE. Here, the Court of Appeals affirms the judgment of the District Court except with respect to the language of the injunction.

This case took place in the USA. Between 1997-1999, Elvis Presley Enterprises again sued Elvisly Yours, this time in the UK. In the UK case, the court ruled in favor of Elvisly Yours!

Elvis Presley Enterprises v. Elvisly Yours (1987) (U.S. Case)

Overview: Assignee of trademarks of Elvis Presley sues U.K. company selling Elvis Memorabilia for trademark infringement, violations of Tennessee common law, and statutory rights of publicity. Court finds in favor of plaintiff, EPE.

This case took place in the USA. Between 1997-1999, Elvis Presley Enterprises again sued Elvisly Yours, this time in the UK. In the UK case, the court ruled in favor of Elvisly Yours!

Elvis Case Sets Stage For First Amendment & Copyright Issues

By David Troedson
Source: Reuters/Billboard
December 19, 2003

The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held Nov. 6 that unauthorized use of extensive video footage of Elvis Presley for a "rockumentary" was not a fair use.

The case, Elvis Presley Enterprises v. Passport Videos, affects everyone who makes and watches video biographies, such as VH1's "Behind the Music," "E! True Hollywood Story" and A&E's "Biography."

The decision sets the stage for a potential collision of First Amendment and copyright issues, according to intellectual-property lawyers.

The ruling also suggests that makers of video biographies may have a harder time establishing a fair-use defense than print biographers.

Elvis Presley Enterprises, Leiber & Stoller and Sofa Entertainment Win Injunction in Federal Court

This article, originally published by Business Wire, gives a great overview of the Elvis Presley Enterprises v. Passport Video case and includes comments from Leiber and Stoller.

Alden v. Presley (1982)

Ginger with Elvis

Overview: Mother of Ginger Alden, Elvis' girlfriend at the time of his death (and the person who discovered his body), sues his estate for the enforcement of a gratuitous promise to pay off her mortgage, on the basis of detrimental reliance.

Last Will and Testament of Elvis A. Presley

This is a copy of the text of Elvis' last will and testament.

Click here to Buy a copy of Elvis' Will for only $1.00
 

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Last Will And Testament Of Elvis A. Presley, Deceased

Filed August 22, 1977


Last Will And Testament of Elvis Presley


I, Elvis A. Presley, a resident and citizen of Shelby County, Tennessee, being of sound mind and disposing memory, do hereby make, publish and declare this instrument to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking any and all wills and codicils by me at any time heretofore made.

Valjo Music Publishing Corp. v. Elvis Presley Music (1957)

Johnny Otis

Overview: In this case, concerning the well-known Elvis song, Hound Dog, band leader Johnny Otis claims rights to 1/3 of the royalties as co-author of the song (in addition to Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) after Elvis' version proved so popular.

Even though Otis was entitled to 1/3 of the royalties from Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton's version, the court refused Otis' claim for royalties on the basis of co-authorship.

For further information see the related articles on The Discography and Wikipedia.