The original Zapruder film, considered a key piece of evidence in the investigation of Kennedy's murder and made famous to a later generation in Oliver Stone's movie JFK has been stored in a national archives film vault since the 1970s.

The family of Abraham Zapruder, who shot the scene on a home camera as Kennedy's motorcade moved through Dallas on November 22, 1963, maintained the rights all these years.

But last year, a Government board declared that the film was the possession of the people of the United States, and said the Government had to determine how much to compensate the family for its rights.

The family is asking the federal Government for $ 18.5 million for the film and says this is only a fraction of its value.

But the Government says it's willing to pay only far less.

``Ittakes an awful lot of courage for someone in the Government to determine what the value of this film is, but that's what's necessary for the Government to take advantage of what we are trying to do,'' Henry Zapruder, a Washington tax attorney, said on Friday.

His father, Abraham, died in 1970.

The family deposited the original film in a national archives film vault in the 1970s, wanting to ensure its safety and preservation. The film, which has deteriorated over the years, is stored at 3.89 degrees celsius.

The family allowed non-commercial users, such as teachers and students, to use the film for free and charged a fee for those who wanted the film for commercial purposes. Aside from Stone's controversial movie, for example, the footage was also used in Clint Eastwood's In the line of fire. In 1992, a law passed by the Congress mandated the creation of the assassination records review board, which sought to bring documents, films and materials in the Government's possession together into onecollection. That board then declared, in April 1997, that the film belonged to the federal Government.The Zapruders, who say they would prefer the film belong to the nation, began entering into discussions with the Justice Department last year over proper compensation.The family offered to sell the film for $ 18.5 million, but estimates that, including ancillary rights, it is worth twice as much.The Washington Post reported in yesterday's editions that the Justice Department has offered the family $ 750,000 while indicating that the upper range might reach as high as $ 3 million.

The movie was cited by the Warren Commission in its conclusion that a single gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, was Kennedy's assassin.