JACKSON ESTATE SUES DISNEY, ABC

The Estate of Michael Jackson is suing The Walt Disney Co. and ABC for their “willful and intentional infringements of dozens of copyrights owned by the Estate that were used, without permission, in the ABC prime time special The Last Days of Michael Jackson.

“Disney’s conduct here was particularly surprising given that it has no tolerance for anyone using its copyrighted material in even the most trivial of manners,” the suit filed in Los Angeles states.

Howard Weitzman of Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP filed the lawsuit for the Jackson Estate with his partner Jonathan Steinsapir.

Among the copyrighted materials the Estate says were used without permission were excerpts of recordings such as “Billie Jean” and “Beat It”; music videos for “Thriller,” “Black or White” and others; and footage of concert performances.