CALIFORNIA PROBATE CENTER

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Huge Dispute Between Michael Jackson’s Estate and Howard Mann Seems Inevitable

Posted on | December 29, 2010 | No Comments

In 2001 the parents of Michael Jackson, Katherine and Joe Jackson, sold an enormous Jackson family memorabilia collection in a bankruptcy auction. The collection of memorabilia was originally intended to be put in a planned family museum. However, when Katherine and Joe Jackson hit financial hardship in 2001 they sold it instead. The collection eventually ended up in the hands of a New Jersey construction company owner, Henry Vaccaro. Vaccaro later set up a pay-per-view website where fans could pay a fee to view the collection material.

In 2004, Michael Jackson sued Mr. Vaccaro and his company, “Vintage Pop,” for copyright infringement, cybersquatting and violation of his privacy rights. However, after the pop singer’s acquittal on child molestation charges Jackson refused a deposition and stopped paying his attorneys. This apparent abandonment of the lawsuit against Vintage Pop led the district court judge overseeing the case to dismiss the claim “with prejudice.” This ruling may mean that no one in the Jackson estate can ever sue “Vintage Pop” for copyright infringement or any of the other causes of action set forth in that 2004 complaint initiated by Michael. It turns out that this ruling became very profitable to one Howard Mann.

Howard Mann bought the memorabilia collection and “Vintage Pop” from Mr. Vaccaro as an investment opportunity just after Michael passed away. Howard Mann claims that since he now owns Vintage Pop and the Jackson memorabilia collection that he can do with it as he pleases without interference from the Jackson estate. He claims this immunity due to the previous court holding that dismissed the 2004 suit against Vintage Pop “with prejudice.” Mann claims that this ruling shields his collection and any use of that collection from any intellectual property claims made by the Jackson estate. Loyola Law School professor Georgene Vairo seems to agree with Mann’s claim from a civil procedure prospective. Professor Vairo asserts that by Michael abandoning the 2004 case he has already had “his bite at the apple” and has essentially “forfeited his intellectual property” that Mann now owns.

Just a few months after the singer died, Howard Mann approached Katherine Jackson (Michael’s mother) with a business opportunity. Since Mann owns the collection and since Katherine does not feel that she gets enough monthly money from the Jackson estate, Mann made her an offer that she apparently could not refuse. He offered to collaborate with her in selling the collection items such as photographs, family videos, etc. in a multitude of ways. The current venture seems to be a book of photographs that Katherine Jackson co-authored that even Oprah helped to promote. The book is comprised of photographs of Michael which are all a part of the memorabilia collection that Mann still owns.

Estate attorneys for the Jackson family have yet to make any legal move to interfere with Katherine Jackson and Mann’s pursuit to sell the intellectual property for profit. However, the estate’s attorney Howard Weitzman has said that the estate will be taking “appropriate legal action.” Mann’s claim to immunity has yet to be tested in court which means the final verdict on his ability to use the memorabilia collection as he sees fit remains to be seen. The Jackson estate thus far seems hesitant to speak up against Katherine Jackson because she is the guardian of the belated singer’s three children and highly adored by his fans.

- Authored by Marissa Sirota

Category: Estate Planning of the Rich and Famous
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