The Michael Jackson estate has won a major victory in court. The executors have triumphed over Howard Mann, the Canadian business man who published a book of photos with Katherine Jackson without the estate’s permission. Mann also purchased a boatload of souvenirs and Jackson family memorabilia from a warehouse owner in New Jersey. Among the items were tapes of music by Michael Jackson. Mann claimed ownership of the copyrights of those tapes even released a song from the collection. Now, with a summary judgment, the court has ruled against Mann. He’ll have to shut down his Jackson websites, especially the one selling the book of photos. Mann took a bath on that book, too. He has cartons and cartons of them somewhere. More to come…
also read this, when I first reported what was going on:
http://www.showbiz411.com/2010/11/07/tmz-jackson-secret-vault-back-off-their-new-song
Here’s a statement from Howard Weitzman:
A Federal Court Judge ruled today that Howard Mann cannot exploit intellectual property created by the late Michael Jackson, including trademarks, copyrights, name, likeness and image.
These assets are owned by the late singer’s Estate for the benefit of his children and mother. The Court found that Mann and his entities improperly claimed to own the assets, and intended in bad faith to profit from them using his various websites. Zia Modabber, one of the lawyers who represents the Estate in this matter states “The Court’s ruling makes clear that Howard Mann had no right to use Michael Jackson’s intellectual property for his own benefit.” The Court ruled that Mann and his entities in fact do not own any of Michael Jackson’s intellectual property and should be permanently enjoined from unlawfully using Michael Jackson’s intellectual property in the future.
Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for the Estate indicated that “The Court’s ruling means that a trial set for September 4, 2012 will involve how much in damages the Michael Jackson Estate is entitled to collect from Mann and his various entities.” The Executors of the Michael Jackson Estate are extremely pleased with the Court’s ruling which prevents Mann from continuing to unlawfully profit from Michael Jackson and his intellectual property.
