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Three years after filing a federal lawsuit in Las Vegas, the widow and children of reggae legend Bob Marley are trying to persuade a jury to award them damages in the case, which stems from the sale of T-shirts bearing Marley's image in retail stores across the United States.

In a trial that began Jan. 4, Marley's heirs have accused the defendants of unfair competition in selling unlicensed merchandise with Marley's identity and persona.

They also claim the defendants have intentionally interfered with their business relationships, causing retailers such as Walmart and Target to drop the Marley family's products in favor of the defendants' cheaper merchandise.

"The basic tension here is between the idea that celebrities ought to be able to get paid or get control over their image versus the idea that everybody should be free to talk about popular culture," Georgetown University law professor Rebecca Tushnet said.

Tushnet, who teaches intellectual property law and has written about the Marley family's lawsuit, said potential profits from images of the musician and social activist, still popular nearly 30 years after his death, probably prompted the lawsuit.

"Celebrity identities can be very valuable," Tushnet said. Just how valuable will be determined at trial, she added.

The Las Vegas trial comes just four months after a New York judge ruled against the Marley family in an unrelated federal lawsuit over copyrights to five albums that include some of Marley's best-known songs, including "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot the Sheriff."

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro is presiding over the Las Vegas trial, which is expected to conclude next week. Marley's son Rohan has testified at the trial and another son, Robert, was in the courtroom this week. But no family members nor any of the lawyers in the case would comment for this article.

Before trial, Pro dismissed the family's claims of trademark infringement and infringement of the right of...