KARACHI: A federal judge bars entrepreneur Howard Mann, a partner of the pop star’s mother, from profiting from use of Jackson’s name in a line of merchandise separate from the estate.
In a 15-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson sided with the singer's estate in a ruling against Mann and the website www.michaeljacksonsecretvault.com , which appeared to be inactive Friday morning.
“There is undisputed evidence that Defendants intended in bad faith to profit from use of Jackson's name, by registering multiple domain names containing his name or the initials ‘MJ’ to sell Jackson-related products,” the Judge wrote.
An attorney in the trial said, “The court’s ruling means that a trial set for September 4, 2012 will involve how much in damages the Michael Jackson Estate is entitled to collect from Mann and his various entities.”
The two executors, John McClain and John Branca, said in a statement they were ‘extremely pleased’ with the Court's ruling which will prevents Mann from ‘continuing to unlawfully profit from Michael Jackson and his intellectual property.’
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