Michael Jackson‘s estate filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Howard Mann in 2011 for establishing an unauthorized website that revealed unreleased Michael Jackson songs and photographs. The lawyers claimed that all the assets are owned by the estate for the benefit of his children and mother.
The Federal Court judge ruled that Howard Mann cannot exploit intellectual property created by the late Michael Jackson. The ruling stated that he violated Michael Jackson’s copyright, trademarks, name, likeness and image. The court also found that Howard Mann and his entities claimed to own these assets with the intention to profit from them using his various websites.
Lawyers for the estate and Howard Mann have settled for $2.5 million dollars right before the trial was scheduled to start. Under terms of the settlement Howard Mann is strictly prohibited from using Michael Jackson’s name and image without the explicit consent of the Estate.