(FORTUNE Magazine) – A Sonoma County ((California)) company selling blood-splattered True Crime trading cards is being sued for misappropriation by one of its featured murderers. Hillside Strangler Kenneth Bianchi has filed a 71-page . . . complaint against Eclipse Enterprises . . . under a theory of commercial appropriation -- sometimes called ''the right to publicity'' . . . The tort theory is designed to protect a celebrity who has worked hard to develop a ''persona'' from unauthorized exploitation of a name or likeness. ''What's unusual about this case is that Bianchi wants to protect a persona of a convicted mass murderer,'' says Seattle attorney Stephen Smith, who / represents Eclipse and has represented other publishers sued by Bianchi. But Bianchi finds nothing unusual about his suit. ''All a person must do is reach a level of fame,'' says Bianchi, now serving a life sentence in . . . Walla Walla. ''His persona has a drawing power, the value of which gives a public figure the power to sell it.'' ((He)) wants $6.75 million in damages. -- From an article in California Lawyer.