Oscar winners don’t completely own their trophies & the Academy has sued for them

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Winning an Oscar is often considered the highest achievement for actors, but surprisingly, they don’t get to keep the actual statue. The Academy Awards organization has even taken legal action against people who tried to keep the trophies.

The 2026 Oscars ceremony went smoothly without any significant scandals. Films like ‘One Battle After Another,’ ‘Sinners,’ ‘Weapons,’ and ‘Hamnet’ were among the big winners.

Despite this, the ceremony still sparked conversation, particularly because Timothée Chalamet wasn’t recognized, and actors like James Van Der Beek were unexpectedly missing from the tribute to those who had passed away.

While stars like Michael B. Jordan, Jessie Buckley, Sean Penn, and Amy Madigan received Oscar statues, they don’t actually own them. Surprisingly, the Academy has even taken legal action against people who tried to keep the awards in the past.

Oscar winners have to sign a contract with the Academy for trophies

‘One Battle After Another’ has won the Best Picture award at the #Oscars

— ScreenTime (@screentime) March 16, 2026

Even though A-list actors are celebrated as the best in Hollywood, they don’t actually own the awards they receive. While they can keep the statuette indefinitely, they aren’t permitted to sell it, even if they need the money or no longer want it.

The Academy Awards has a rule stating that if a winner wants to sell their Oscar, they must first offer it back to the organization for just $1. This rule also applies to the winner’s heirs – if they inherit the trophy, they must offer it back to the Academy before selling it elsewhere.

According to the Academy’s rules, award winners can’t sell their Oscar statuettes – or allow anyone else to sell them, even through legal processes – without first offering to sell it back to the Academy for just one dollar. This rule also applies to the winners’ families if they inherit a statuette as a gift or in a will.

These rules help keep the awards meaningful and prestigious. Though most actors respect them, the Academy has occasionally taken legal action to reclaim a statuette in the past.

In 1942, Joseph Wright won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film My Girl Sal. Years later, in 2014, his nephew, Joseph Tutalo, sold the Oscar for $79,200. The Academy then sued Tutalo, claiming he violated their rules regarding the sale of awards – rules that weren’t in place until 1951. The case was settled with Tutalo paying $6,500 in damages, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

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2026-03-16 16:20