After a year and a half legal battle over the use and likeness of late pop icon Michael Jackson's image, a $2.5 million settlement has been reached between his estate and Howard Mann, the accused.
The lawsuit was brought about when Mann began to use Jackson's image and name to promote his website michaeljacksonsecretvault.com which featured photographs and unreleased songs. Mann is the CEO of Vintage Pop Media that ran the site. A federal judge ordered the site shutdown last month after ruling the site violated copyrights that belong to the Jackson estate.
As part of the settlement Mann and his companies will not be allowed to use Michael Jackson's likeness without first obtaining permission from the estate. Vintage Pop Media will pay $2 million of the settlement and the remainder will be paid from Vintage Associates LLC, which is the company that was the custodian of the items at issue.
The case had been set to go to a jury trial this week until the settlement was reached.
For more information about the use of images and likeness in relation to estate litigation, please contact a professional estate litigation Attorney.
*This blog entry was not written by an Attorney and should not be constituted as professional legal advice.