Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, has settled the federal lawsuit she filed against a museum in her south Alabama hometown over its sale of souvenirs featuring her name and the title of her book.
A lawyer for Lee, an Alabama resident, filed a motion in federal court in Mobile on Tuesday saying the writer had reached an agreement with the Monroe County Heritage Museum in Monroeville.
The settlement notice came days after a judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit, filed in 2013, that said the museum uses Lee's name and the title of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel without compensating her.
The document didn't provide details about the settlement, and a lawyer for the museum, Matthew Goforth, declined to comment Wednesday. He cited the terms of settlement negotiations.
Lee's lawyer did not return a message seeking comment.
A judge would have to approve any settlement.
Lee, who is 87 and has had a stroke, lives in Monroeville. She used to share her time between the town, which has a population of 28,000, and New York.
To Kill A Mockingbird, which was released in 1960, is Lee's only published novel. It tells the story of small-town lawyer Atticus Finch, his two children and the struggle against racial prejudice and injustice in the Jim Crow South. Considered a modern classic, the book was turned into film starring Gregory Peck.
The set for the movie's climactic courtroom scene recreated the Monroe County Courthouse, where the museum is located. The museum includes a gift shop that has sold book-related souvenirs including clothing.
The lawsuit said the museum took advantage of Lee's trademarks to sell souvenirs and wrongly used the title of the book as a website address without any compensation. The museum took in more than $US500,000 ($A557,009.97) in 2012, the lawsuit said.
Goforth previously said the museum earned $US28,566 from merchandise sales that year.
Lee filed the lawsuit after seeking a federal trademark for the title of her book when it is used on clothing. The museum opposed the application, saying souvenir sales were vital to its continued operation.
The museum has now changed its website name to http://www.monroecountymuseum.org and items are not offered for sale online. The site says the gift shop "offers dozens of custom items available ONLY in Monroeville".
The website says the shop has "a great selection of books and memorabilia about Harper Lee" and Truman Capote, a childhood friend of Lee who also lived in Monroeville and went on to write In Cold Blood.
