Michael Jackson's estate sues Disney, ABC

LOS ANGELES (AP):

The estate of Michael Jackson sued ABC and parent company Disney on Wednesday, saying a two-hour documentary on the singer's last days improperly used the King of Pop's songs, music videos and movies.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles alleges that last week's special, 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.

It also says ABC used clips from the estate's 2016 Spike Lee-directed documentary, Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall, and from the 2009 feature film Michael Jackson's This is It.

The lawsuit alleges at least 30 violations and seeks unspecified damages and an injunction against further use of the estate's intellectual property.

It frequently cites Disney's aggressive defence of its own copyrights and its normally narrow view of "fair use," the doctrine in copyright law that says short excerpts can be used for news, criticism and research.

"Like Disney, the lifeblood of the estate's business is its intellectual property," the lawsuit says. "Yet for some reason, Disney decided it could just use the estate's most valuable intellectual property for free."

Representatives from ABC said they had not yet reviewed the lawsuit but reiterated a statement from last week that the special was a piece of journalism and "did not infringe on his estate's rights."