The Birth and Death Registration Office in Orange County, California, told CNN it had no record of Kekua, nor does the county coroner.

CNN: January 18, 2013 -- Updated 1628 GMT (0028 HKT)

What this deletion would do is to change the copyright protection system for industrial designs which are mass produced, from 25 years after registration to 70 years after the death of the designer.

BBC: Week ahead