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Michael Jackson Estate Alleges Violations of Trademarks, Rights of Publicity
The National Law Journal
October 01, 2009
Michael Jackson's estate has filed suit against two California organizations that it alleged sought infringing trademarks for phrases such as "King of Pop" and "Thriller" in an attempt to masquerade as a legitimate charity tied to the late pop star.
The suit -- the first trademark infringement case for the estate since Jackson's death on June 25 -- was filed on Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles. It names the Heal the World Foundation and its affiliated corporation, United Fleet, which operates in the California cities of Indio and Palm Desert.
"Defendants have created an 'organization' that purports to carry on the work of Jackson's foundation and make numerous false representations regarding their affiliation with Mr. Jackson and his charity," the complaint says, alleging trademark infringement and violation of Jackson's right to publicity.
The suit seeks to enjoin the defendants from using the trademarks and the destruction of infringing products.
Vincent Chieffo, a shareholder in the Santa Monica, Calif., office of Greenberg Traurig, brought the suit on behalf of the co-administrators of Jackson's estate, John G. Branca and John McClain, and Triumph International Inc., which owns Jackson's trademarks. The estate claims that it owns Jackson's right of publicity. Chieffo represents Triumph International and Branca and McClain are officers and sole directors.
Chieffo declined to comment, as did Jim Bates, a spokesman for the estate. In a press release, Branca, a partner at entertainment boutique law firm Ziffren Brittenham in Los Angeles, said: "John McClain and I as special administrators will continue to be vigilant in protecting Michael's legacy from unauthorized exploitation and in protecting Michael's fans from being deceived."
A request for comment sent by e-mail to the Heal the World Foundation in Palm Desert drew no reply. United Fleet could not be reached for comment.
According to the suit, the corporations, which were formed in 2008, have registered six trademarks related to Jackson and applied for 41 more, "many of which are identical or confusingly similar to" Jackson's trademarks.
The defendants allegedly have registered several character marks for a "Heal the World Foundation" and have filed applications for numerous designs related to Jackson's foundation. They also have registered character marks for "MJ," "Make that Change," "King of Pop," "Thriller," "Neverland," "Michael" and "Michael Jackson," and for domain names including www.mjaid.net and www.healtheworldfoundation.net.
