The estate of the late Michael Jackson has filed a lawsuit against the Heal The World Foundation for exploiting his death by unlawfully seeking trademarks using the name `Michael Jackson` and phrases such as `King Of Pop`, `Heal The World`, `MJ`, Neverland` and `Thriller`.
They claim the charity is deceiving the public into thinking they operate the charities and are fooling fans into believing they are making donations in Michael’s name.Michael Jackson himself set up a Heal The World Foundation in 1992 but it was disbanded in 2002. A separate charity using the name Heal The World Foundation but with no association to Jackson was started in 2008.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court of Los Angeles today by Jackson Estate administrators John Braca and John McClain. "John McClain and I as Special Administrators will continue to be vigilant in protecting Michael's legacy from unauthorized exploitation and in protecting Michael’s fans from being deceived,” Braca said today in a statement.
The defendants have registered six trademarks and applied for 41 more. The lawsuit claims that the trademarks “uniquely and unmistakably point to Mr. Jackson and his persona” and are intended “to cause confusion, mistake and to deceive.”
CBS News have also been targeting the charity calling it “a magnet for fans searching for a Michael Jackson charity.”
A statement from the Jackson Estate today reads, “While Mr. Jackson did found his own Heal the World Foundation in 1992, it had no connection to the defendants and, in fact, became dormant before he died. Mr. Jackson named his legitimate foundation after his iconic song that urged peace, unity, compassion and understanding, which he would later cite as the song he was most proud of writing. Mr. Jackson performed the song during halftime at Super Bowl XXVII, and it was featured prominently at the conclusion of Mr. Jackson’s memorial service in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009”.
