Est. 1998
Image Rights Ruling
On October 11th the Tokyo District Court ruled against a Japanese company, claiming to have sole rights to use Michael’s name and image in Japan.
Ecbizz Japan Co. was brought to court by Triumph International Inc., one of the owners of rights to Michael’s name and image in the United States. In December 2009, Triumph International Inc accused Ecbizz of violating the U.S. firm’s property rights. Ecbizz Japan claimed that it had been assigned exclusive ownership of Michael’s image, in Japan, by Michael’s family and lawyers.
The Tokyo District Court, however, accepted the Triumph International’s accusations in their entirety, declaring that Ecbizz lacked any clear evidences to support its claims. Ecbizz was ordered to erase all information related to Jackson’s name and image from its website.
According to sources related to the case, the Japanese company had used its “rights” to Michael’s intellectual property, to sell goods with Michael’s face and name on them to six other firms in Japan.
Source: The Mainichi Daily News Online & MJWN
Song of the week
