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NEW YORK, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A U.S. collector who owns Adolf Hitler's globe says the makers of the World War II film "Valkyrie" used the copyright model's likeness without permission. San Francisco advertising executive Robert Pritikin owns a $40 million art collection and several Hitler artifacts, including the globe, a replica of which is prominently featured in Tom Cruise's latest movie. The film was made by Cruise's studio United Artists.
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The New York Post said Pritikin paid $100,000 for the real globe and had its likeness copyrighted, so neo-Nazi groups couldn't use it for propaganda.
"Tom Cruise's use of the globe's likeness without our client's permission was likely just an oversight. We're confident this will all be quickly resolved out of court," Dan Hanks -- an investigator who was hired, along with Paul Barresi, to look into the matter -- told the Post.
Pritikin recently put his Hitler memorabilia up for sale and his representatives said he would welcome Cruise's purchase and donation of the items to the Wiesenthal Center, where the artifacts could be used as teaching tools.
The Post said publicists for Cruise and United Artists didn't respond to its requests for comment.
