Editing Academy Awards (section)

=== Ownership of Oscar statuettes ===
Before 1950, Oscar statuettes were, and remain, the property of the recipient.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rose |first=Lacey |date=February 28, 2005 |title=Psst! Wanna Buy An Oscar? |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/2005/02/28/cx_lr_0228oscarsales.html |access-date=April 13, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111214351/http://www.forbes.com/2005/02/28/cx_lr_0228oscarsales.html |archive-date=November 11, 2013}}</ref> Since then the statuettes have been legally [[encumbrance|encumbered]] by the requirement that the statuette be first offered for sale back to the Academy for {{USD|1|long=no}}. 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.<ref name="money.com">{{cite web |title=How Much Is an Oscar Statue Worth? Here Are 3 Estimates |author-first1=Megan|author-last1=Leonhardt|url=http://money.com/money/5181378/how-much-oscar-statue-worth/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116212310/https://money.com/how-much-oscar-statue-worth/ |archive-date=November 16, 2020 |access-date=October 29, 2019 |website=Money}}</ref>

In 1989, [[Mike Todd|Michael Todd's]] grandson tried to sell Todd's Best Picture Oscar for his 1956 production of ''[[Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]'' to a movie prop collector. The 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 to raise money for his wife's medical expenses. Though his decision caused controversy, the first Oscar ever to be sold passed to a private collector on August 6, 1992, for {{USD|60,500|1992|long=no}}. 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 movie will be here, even if Oscar isn't".<ref>{{cite news |last=Rothman |first=Heathcliff |date=February 12, 2006 |title=I'd Really Like to Thank My Pal at the Auction House |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/movies/redcarpet/id-really-like-to-thank-my-pal-at-the-auction-house.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921095530/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/movies/redcarpet/id-really-like-to-thank-my-pal-at-the-auction-house.html |archive-date=September 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Duke |first=Alan |date=December 12, 2011 |title=Orson Welles' 'Citizen Kane' Oscar for sale |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/12/showbiz/orson-welles-oscar/index.html |access-date=December 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112025602/http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/12/showbiz/orson-welles-oscar/index.html |archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref> On December 20, 2011, it sold in an online auction for {{USD|861,542|2011|long=no}}.<ref name="Welles' Oscar sold">{{cite news |last=Duke |first=Alan |date=December 21, 2011 |title=Orson Welles' 'Citizen Kane' Oscar brings $861,000 |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/21/showbiz/orson-welles-oscar/index.html |access-date=April 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116121806/http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/21/showbiz/orson-welles-oscar/index.html |archive-date=January 16, 2014}}</ref>

Some buyers have subsequently returned the statuettes to the Academy, which keeps them in its treasury.<ref name="money.com"/>