Court Of Appeal Returns Pornography Lawsuit For Cover Children Album Nirvana, Nevermind

Cover the album Nirvana, Nevermind (Doc. Nirvana)

JAKARTA - Spencer Elden, a baby on the cover of Nirvana's album Nevermind, filed a child pornography lawsuit against the grunge band through the US Court of Appeals.

In September 2022, a US District judge in Los Angeles ruled that the cover photo of the album Nevermind featuring Elden's four-month-old nude photo, was not child pornography.

That is the third time Elden has tried to sue the surviving band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic and asset holder Kurt Cobain, photographer Krik Weddle and a number of record labels.

At the time, the court notified Elden, now 32, that he would not be allowed to file a fourth lawsuit. And lawyers representing Nirvana called the ruling a final conclusion' of the story that began in August 2021.

However, in December 2022, Elden filed an appeal against the court's dismissal. He filed a filing with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California, asking for monetary compensation for a persistent "psychological or emotional illness", saying that the judge had made a wrong decision on the grounds that the lawsuit was bound by a mandatory restriction law.

Now, on Thursday last week (December 21st), the court is returning its lawsuit. According to an official summary, the decision was made because any republication of child pornography can cause new personal losses, Elden's complaint accusing the album's cover republication within ten years before his actions were not banned by the restriction law.

The ruling also states that the question of whether the album cover Nevermind meets the definition of child pornography is not a problem in this appeal.

Responding to the new decision, the lawyer representing Nirvana said: "The setback of this procedure does not change our view. We will defend this inappropriate case with passion and hope to win."

Meanwhile, Elden's legal representative stated that massive commercial exploitation of babies around the world may be iconic, but that doesn't make it true and certainly doesn't make it legal.

At the time of filing an appeal, Elden's attorney also claimed that Cobain had written "some journal entries" describing his deviant vision for the album cover Nevermind as a manifestation of his emotional and sexual disorders."

Cobain's fun with pornographic pictures started very early. One of Cobain's school friends found him drawing pornography as a child, they argued.

So far, Nirvana's lawyers have remained firm in their stance that Elden is fully aware of the fact, where Grohl said Elden had tattoos based on Nevermind's cover artwork.

In addition to the compensation requested, Elden's demands include Nirvana editing the original Nevermind cover for the potential for a re-release in the album's 30-year anniversary edition. However, he did not succeed.