Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars

Ownership of Oscar statuettes
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Prior to 1950 Oscar statuettes were (and
remain) the property of the recipient.
[33]
Since then the statuettes have been
legally encumbered by the requirement
that the statuette be first offered for sale
back to the Academy for US$1. If a
winner refuses to agree to this
stipulation, then the Academy keeps the
statuette. Academy Awards predating
this agreement have been sold in public
auctions and private deals for six-figure
sums.
[34]
In 1989 Michael Todd's grandson tried to
sell Todd's Best Picture Oscar for his
1956 production of Around the World in
80 Days to a movie prop collector. The

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Academy earned enforcement of its
statuette contract by gaining a
permanent injunction against the sale.
In 1992, Harold Russell consigned his
1946 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for
The Best Years of Our Lives to auction in
order to raise money for his wife's
medical expenses. Though his decision
caused controversy, the first-ever Oscar
to be sold passed to a private collector
on August 6, 1992 for $60,500 ($110,200
today). Russell defended his action,
saying, "I don't know why anybody would
be critical. My wife's health is much more
important than sentimental reasons. The

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movie will be here, even if Oscar isn't."
.
[35]
In December 2011, Orson Welles' 1941
Oscar for Citizen Kane (Academy Award
for Best Original Screenplay) was put up
for auction, after his heirs won a 2004
court decision contending that Welles did
not sign any agreement to return the
statue to the Academy.
[36]
 On December
20, 2011, it sold in an online auction for
US$861,542 ($0.98 million today).
[37]
Some buyers have subsequently returned
the statuettes to the Academy, which
keeps them in its treasury.
[34]

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