Michael Jackson's Estate Sues ABC Over Copyright Infringement

[midnightman]

https://www.etonline.com/michael-jackson-estate-sues-over-tv-documentary-103229

[marv2]

Good! I hope they get a good chunk of change out of ABC! They [[Michael Jackson's Estate) are right, ABC has no tolerance for use of their copyrighted material. That was a problem during the early days of Youtube. They are going to end up spending the money that they clearly did not budget for that TV special.

[RanRan79]

I have a hard time believing ABC would be dumb enough not to clear these things. I'm real curious how this is going to play out.

[jobeterob]

They are so whiny; like Aretha Franklin when Tina Turner gets called the Queen of Soul Rock or something or when Patti Labelle's lungs lasted longer than hers. Perhaps Michael made sure his money went nowhere except to Mom and kids and it pissed everyone else off. The estate surely can't be trying to save a reputation anymore.

[PeaceNHarmony]

They are so whiny; like Aretha Franklin when Tina Turner gets called the Queen of Soul Rock or something or when Patti Labelle's lungs lasted longer than hers. Perhaps Michael made sure his money went nowhere except to Mom and kids and it pissed everyone else off. The estate surely can't be trying to save a reputation anymore.
Sadly, like many other families of deceased legends, the family is a hot, greedy mess and really only interested in MONEY !!!! If they shave a git about Michael's reputation a simple statement such as "We feel this presentation is misrepresentative and exploitive' would be sufficient. But, as in other situations where money can be made off of a dead body rather than actually working for it, there are blurred lines. And I love my Aretha, but ... girl ...

[marv2]

Sadly, like many other families of deceased legends, the family is a hot, greedy mess and really only interested in MONEY !!!! If they shave a git about Michael's reputation a simple statement such as "We feel this presentation is misrepresentative and exploitive' would be sufficient. But, as in other situations where money can be made off of a dead body rather than actually working for it, there are blurred lines. And I love my Aretha, but ... girl ...

What dead body? They suing because of copyright infringement. Electronic material. It is the Estate that is suing, not his family. Geez......

[midnightman]

This isn't about the special, it's about them using material they authorized that ABC decided to use without asking them first.

Also, the family has come out saying the special was derogatory towards MJ so there's that...

[RanRan79]

They are so whiny; like Aretha Franklin when Tina Turner gets called the Queen of Soul Rock or something or when Patti Labelle's lungs lasted longer than hers. Perhaps Michael made sure his money went nowhere except to Mom and kids and it pissed everyone else off. The estate surely can't be trying to save a reputation anymore.

Whiny about what? If ABC used copyrighted material without permission [[which I still find doubtful but not impossible), shouldn't the estate call them out on it? As the statement says, ABC and especially Disney's stingy ass be ready to drops bombs on folks for copyright infringement. Why should MJ's estate be exempt from the same rights?

And let's not forget that Michael was someone's family member. What we the general public find interesting or for the sake of information, the family may take exception to. I have deceased loved ones and I'd protect their reputations until the last breath left my body. I can't deny the Jacksons that same right.

[midnightman]

It seemed the special also sparked small interest [[again, if just for a day) in Wade Robson's now debunked claims that MJ messed with him... so if the estate wins their suit, this docu would be buried and no one will benefit money from it.

[marv2]

It seemed the special also sparked small interest [[again, if just for a day) in Wade Robson's now debunked claims that MJ messed with him... so if the estate wins their suit, this docu would be buried and no one will benefit money from it.

Well it really wasn't that special [[pardon the pun), but it is already streaming on Hulu. There was nothing new in it and ABC was looking for a quick ratings pick up. Didn't work.....

[soulster]

I'm not an entertainment or copyright lawyer, but, there is probably one way ABC could win this: if the program was a news documentary, they don't have to pay royalties. Items used as news is exempt. If the doc was produced by the entertainment division, this would be different.

[jobeterob]

Whiny about what? If ABC used copyrighted material without permission [[which I still find doubtful but not impossible), shouldn't the estate call them out on it? As the statement says, ABC and especially Disney's stingy ass be ready to drops bombs on folks for copyright infringement. Why should MJ's estate be exempt from the same rights?

And let's not forget that Michael was someone's family member. What we the general public find interesting or for the sake of information, the family may take exception to. I have deceased loved ones and I'd protect their reputations until the last breath left my body. I can't deny the Jacksons that same right.

You’re right; they are all the same and the estate should not rank differently than Disney or ABC

I was equating the estate with the Latoya types in the family and those family members got wisely eliminated from the estate by Michael

The estate is administered by lawyers - always a reliable bunch

[marv2]

You’re right; they are all the same and the estate should not rank differently than Disney or ABC

I was equating the estate with the Latoya types in the family and those family members got wisely eliminated from the estate by Michael

The estate is administered by lawyers - always a reliable bunch

Mrs. Jackson makes sure that the rest of the family is well taken care of financially.

[midnightman]

Well it really wasn't that special [[pardon the pun), but it is already streaming on Hulu. There was nothing new in it and ABC was looking for a quick ratings pick up. Didn't work.....

Right. I guess they expected it to be #1 overall. A Big Bang Theory rerun beat it lol

https://media.giphy.com/media/Dd76QxXlhsWCk/giphy.gif

[marv2]

Right. I guess they expected it to be #1 overall. A Big Bang Theory rerun beat it lol

https://media.giphy.com/media/Dd76QxXlhsWCk/giphy.gif

I've never seen it, but good for Big Bang Theory. I have to watch it sometime. I heard this week that it is the most watch program in Canada for some reason.

[jaybs]

I fully agree with copyright laws, sad that many artists never got their due rights over the years! So right it goes to the courts, It would not be the family themselves there will be that many top attroney's on this and good on them!