Harper Lee dead: The author's lawsuit against hometown Mockingbird museum

The author accused the Monroe County Heritage Museum of making $500,000 from the sale of To Kill a Mockingbird memorabilia

Harper Lee in 2007 (AP)

Harper Lee is famed for her enduring literary classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, telling the story of a southern American attorney as he defends an African-American man in the 1930s.

Three years ago, however, the town where Lee was born, and which served as inspiration for the fictional Maycomb County in her best-selling book, became the scene of its own legal dispute.

In October 2013, Lee sued the local museum in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama for trademark infringement, claiming it illegally used her fame for its own gain, CNN reported.

The author accused the Monroe County Heritage Museum of making $500,000 (£297,500) from the sale of To Kill a Mockingbird memorabilia, including kitchenware, clothing and coasters, in its gift shop named the Bird’s Nest.

The museum also staged a To Kill a Mockingbird play each spring and used the book title as a website address without compensating Lee financially.

At the time the museum condemned Lee’s lawsuit as “false” and “meritless” and warned the legal action could destroy the institution.

Legal action against the museum was finally settled in June 2014 with the case being dismissed after Lee and the museum agreed to settle under confidential terms, according to the BBC.

Tributes have poured in for the celebrated author after her death at 89-years-old on Friday.

The reclusive author lived in Monroe County until her death, about 105 miles from Montgomery in the southern part of the state.

In February 2015 Lee published her second and final novel Go Set a Watchman. Written in the 1950s it has been confirmed as a first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Publisher Penguin Random House posted a message on Twitter saying “Rest in peace, Harper Lee.”

Ava DuVernay, Tim Cook and John Green have all paid tribute to the Pulitzer prize-winning author.