The Minnesota state legislature is working to introduce a new bill that would protect Prince's name.

According to MPR News, the bill called the "Personal Rights in Names Can Endure" Act (the PRINCE Act), would restrict the use of Prince’s name and likeness in commercial ventures and give more control to heirs of the late music icon’s estate.

The PRINCE Act was introduced on Monday (May 9) in Minnesota’s House of Representatives and Senate. And according to the Minnesota House of Representatives’ official website, the new bill is said to protect “multiple aspects of the deceased person, “including their name, image, voice, and signature." The PRINCE act, (if approved) will last for up to fifty years after his/her death.

Joel Leviton, an attorney for Bremer Trust, who are the special administrator for Prince’ estate, told MPR News that the bill is about protecting an artist's legacy.

“We’re talking about your name, we’re talking about your image, we’re talking about a photograph of you,” he said. “We’re talking about, anything that identifies you.”

There are currently seventeen other states that support this and have a similar law in place. Although the bill would apply to all Minnesotans, supporters and creators of the PRINCE bill declared their beloved Prince and his sudden death is what directly inspired it.

While we continue to pay tribute to a musical legend and philanthropist, his legacy lives on not only in music but also in the court of law.

Prince’s death on April 21 sparked the creation of the bill, however, it still has to be approved. The House Civil Law Committee is planning to give the PRINCE Act its first hearing on Wednesday (May 11).

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