To Kill a Mockingbird case settled again

To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee has settled her trademark case against a US museum for the second time, following a briefly reignited court battle.

Lee had accused the Monroeville Museum in Alabama of trademark infringement over its sale of souvenirs and memorabilia featuring her name and the title of her only novel.

The lawsuit, which said the use of the trademark could “deceive” the general public into thinking Lee had endorsed it, was originally filed in 2011 but Lee’s attorneys announced in February this year that a settlement had been reached.

Lee and the museum were given 90 days in which to agree terms but 88-year-old Lee claimed the museum tried to alter the settlement’s details, meaning the lawsuit was briefly reignited last month.

The finer details of today’s settlement have been kept confidential but, according to Reuters, each side has agreed to bear its own costs.

The museum is located in Monroeville, the town that inspired the setting for Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about racism and injustice.

Officials at the museum claimed Lee never demanded compensation before filing the lawsuit.

The case is not the first time the novel has been subject to a lawsuit.

In September last year, WIPR reported that Lee had settled her case against her former literary agent, Veritas Media, in which she alleged she was “duped” into signing over her copyright of the book to the company.