LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — The estate of Michael Jackson has sued ABC and their corporate parent Disney over a two-hour documentary focusing on the late King of Pop’s final days, alleging the unlicensed use of Jackson’s music and videos.
According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit alleges that ABC’s documentary “The Last Days of Michael Jackson” illegally uses significant excerpts of his most valuable songs, including Billie Jean and Bad, and music videos, including Thriller and Black or White.
The lawsuit also claims that ABC used content from the estate’s 2016 documentary “Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall” and from the 2009 feature film “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” without obtaining permission.
In all, the lawsuit alleges at least 30 infringements and the Estate seeks an injunction barring further use of intellectual property as well as unspecified damages, the Associated Press reported.
Last week, the Estate released a statement expressing disappointment over ABC’s alleged use of copyrighted material in the documentary.
Representatives from ABC did not respond to a request for comment, but last week, after the Estate’s public statement over the doc, ABC defended their inclusion of the material, citing the Fair Use exemption.
The documentary aired on May 24th.
