A
US
judge
on
Tuesday
dismissed
the
case
of
a
man
who
as
a
baby
was
photographed
naked
on
the
cover
of
Nirvana’s
“Nevermind” album.
The
man,
who
was
just
a
few
months
old
when
the
photo
was
taken,
sued
the
American
rock
band
on
the
grounds
of
sexual
exploitation.
The
album
has
gone
on
to
sell
more
than
30
million
copies
worldwide.

No
payment
for
the
photo

According
to
court
documents,
Spencer
Elden,
now
30,
never
received
any
compensation
for
the
image.
He
asked
for
$150,000
(€133,000)
in
damages
from
each
of
the
15
defendants
–
including
the
surviving
former
members
of
the
band,
Dave
Grohl
and
Krist
Novoselic,
as
well
as
the
estate
of
the
late
lead
singer
Kurt
Cobain,
and
the
photographer,
Kirk
Weddle.

But
on
Tuesday,
California
judge
Fernando
Olguin,
sided
with
the
defense,
which
had
argued
the
accusation
lacked
merit.

“Elden’s
claim
that
the
photograph
on
the
Nevermind
album
cover
is
‘child
pornography’
is,
on
its
face,
not
serious,”
the
defense
said,
noting
that
anyone
who
owned
a
copy
of
the
album
would
“on
Elden’s
theory
[be]
guilty
of
felony
possession
of
child
pornography.”

He
used
the
notoriety
‘to
try
to
pick
up
women’

Defense
lawyers
argued
Elden
had
until
recently
seemed
to
enjoy
the
notoriety
of
being
the
“Nirvana
baby”.
“He
has
re-enacted
the
photograph
in
exchange
for
a
fee,
many
times;
he
has
had
the
album
title…
tattooed
across
his
chest;
he
has
appeared
on
a
talk
show
wearing
a
self-parodying,
nude-colored
onesie;
he
has
autographed
copies
of
the
album
cover
for
sale
on
eBay;
and
he
has
used
the
connection
to
try
to
pick
up
women,”
the
band’s
lawyer
Bert
H.
Deixler
wrote
in
a
22-page
motion,
filed
last
month.

Defense
lawyers
also
said
the
statute
of
limitations
on
Elden’s
claims
had
expired
in
2011.
The
prosecution
has
until
January
13
to
refile,
which
they
have
vowed
to
do.

jsi/rt
(AFP,
dpa)

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