The album cover made headlines decades after the original shoot, when Elden took his grievance to court. He sued Nirvana and record label Universal Music Group in 2021, accusing them of exploiting him and causing him continuing personal harm. A district judge dismissed the case because Elden didn't sue within a 10-year limitations period after learning of the cover.
In December 2023, a unanimous panel reversed that ruling. "The appeals court said that Elden could still sue based on Nirvana’s republication of the cover more recently, including in a rereleased version of Nevermind from 2021," reported the Guardian at the time.
While the cover was considered iconic, and played a big part in Nirvana's album sales, it also ended up being controversial, and part of a serious criminal case, highlighting just how much forethought needs to go into design and execution of an album cover. And perhaps proving that maybe sometimes you can, in fact, judge a book - or album - by its cover.
