Hologram Patent #Lawsuits #MichaelJackson and #CirqueduSoleil show in Las Vegas

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

Two years ago, a hologram of Tupac Shakur at the Coachella Music Festival had people wondering about what might be next in concert possibilities. Now, the technology that created the spectacle has landed in the hands of a noteworthy billionaire: Alki David, the eccentric one who attempted to transform the television business with streaming technology before Aereo stole his thunder and TV broadcasters unleashed their legal guns on him.

Now, David finds himself on the flip side of the intellectual property coin. His FilmOn and hologram-maker Musion are the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed on Monday against Cirque du Soleil and MGM Resorts for allegedly infringing patents to create a hologram used in the final scene of Michael Jackson: One, the resident acrobatic production at Mandalay Bay Theatre in Las Vegas.

The complaint filed in California federal court begins with some history, read here....  http://www.scribd.com/doc/214434044/Hologram

"In 1862, John Pepper and Henry Dircks invented 'Pepper's Ghost,' an illusion technique, which, over the last 150 years, has appeared in movies, concerts, magic shows and amusement park rides," says the lawsuit. "Today a new incarnation of Pepper's Ghost exists -- Musion Eyeliner technology. Musion Eyeliner uses a patented system to project three-dimensional images virtually indistinguishable from real life bodies."

David was apparently impressed upon seeing the technology being used to create the deceased rapper Tupac appearing on stage with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. He says he recently bought the exclusive license to Musion's patent and has started up a company called Hologram USA with a showroom at the FilmOn Studios on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills.

Why? He's got plans. "We already agreed on hologram performances with Flo Rida and the late Amy Winehouse," he says. "Many other shows are coming."

But first comes some score-settling about who owns rights to hologram technology. David says he's about to file a slew of lawsuits. This Michael Jackson one is the first.

The new lawsuit mentions two patents at issue: One for a device for displaying moving images in the background of a stage and one for a projection apparatus and method for pepper's ghost illusion.
"Although it has been widely acknowledged that Defendants employ the technology to create a three-dimensional hologram of Michael Jackson in Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson: One, Defendants do not possess a valid license to practice that technology."

Meanwhile, the hologram technology has landed in the hands of a Hollywood bad boy with a taste for the outrageous. David tells THR, "This is by far the most exciting business opportunity I have ever seen. Imagine running 100 meters against Usain Bolt or resurrecting Richard Pryor!"

Source.... HR

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Richard Arons Wants Paid the 7.5 percent Royalties from Michael Jackson's "Thriller"

While the Jackson family’s trial against AEG continues, a former lawyer and manager for the Jacksons on Monday filed a new lawsuit demanding at least $10 million from Sony Music Entertainment for royalties from music created prior to 1983.

Richard Arons, who says he is 75 years old and dependent on these payments, is suing in L.A. Superior Court for breach of contract, improper accounting and more. He is asking the court to grant him lost royalties, costs and damages and the continuation of future payments.

Arons says he became the Jackson family attorney in 1969 just as The Jackson Five were beginning their rise.

In 1972, Arons and Joe Jackson (father of the Jackson Five) became the personal managers for the Jacksons, with a deal to split 15 percent of the gross proceeds from what Michael Jackson and his brothers earned from all activities.

In 1978, Joe Jackson and Arons had a dispute. Under a 1981 settlement, Arons compensation was still 7.5 percent from the sale of recorded music, but he gave up some rights to money from other activities.

Around 1991, Arons got into another dispute -- with Michael Jackson this time -- over a time Michael stopped his payments. Under the settlement they reached, Arons stopped being the manager but his right to payments from the recordings made in 1983 and before was reaffirmed.

In March 2012, according to the suit, Andrew Ross of Sony Music agreed to review Arons claims, but even after that, the royalty statements were incorrect. Aarons complained and Ross said he would get back to him. The suit says he never did.

Now, Arons says he not only hasn’t been paid all he is owed, but Sony also refuses to give him a proper accounting of how much the recordings have earned and of his royalties. He wants his money and a full accounting.

Read More... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/jackson-familys-manager-sues-sony-574229

Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin
Open Evenings and Weekends this Summer
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Defendant's Lawyers Dr. Dre for stealing from Michael Jackson, Eminem's Music Publisher Suing Facebook

On Monday, Eight Mile Style, LLC, the company that administers the rights to Eminem's music, filed a lawsuit against Facebook.

The complaint filed in Michigan federal court not only accuses the popular social network of lifting one of Eminem's songs for the April launch of a new application called "Facebook Home," but tells the story of how Facebook's advertising company attempted to use Eminem to attract the liking of Mark Zuckerberg, and how, when threatened with copyright allegations, the ad agency's response was to attack hip-hop producer (and sometime Eminem collaborator) Dr. Dre for being a flagrant thief who had stolen the song in question from Michael Jackson.

Read Full Complaint here... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/Documents/ESQ/eminem_facebook.pdf

This copyright infringement lawsuit adds another dimension by discussing willfulness in the context of likes and dislikes.

According to the complaint, when Zuckerberg held that April event to unveil "Facebook Home," its new mobile software, he introduced an advertisement entitled "Airplane," which featured music described as substantially similar to "Under the Influence," from Eminem and D12 appearing on the Marshall Mathers LP.

The choice of music is said to be no accident. Zuckerberg reportedly called himself "Slim Shady" -- one of Eminem's monikers -- in an early website he created in 1999.

The use of song in the advertisement was allegedly picked by Portland, Oregon-based ad firm Wieden + Kennedy. The lawsuit says that "W+K incorporated said music into the Airplane advertisement in an effort to curry favor with Facebook by catering to Zuckerberg’s personal likes and interests."

After the ad was picked up online, the lawsuit implies that ordinary observers noticed the similarity of the music and that, as a result, Facebook then released the Airplane advertisement on its official YouTube channel but in altered form.

"The alteration of the Airplane advertisement was an admission that Facebook knew it had infringed on the Eminem/D12 Composition," says the lawsuit.

Read More... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/eminems-music-publisher-suing-facebook-525687

E-mail Suggests Link Between AEG and Michael Jackson's Death

The exchange indicates that the concert promoter put added pressure on Dr. Conrad Murray to force the pop star into rehearsals.

A “smoking gun” email that allegedly links concert promoter AEG Live to the 2009 death of Michael Jackson was revealed this week in connection with the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Jackson’s mother and children.

The exchange between AEG Live co-CEO Paul Gongaware and Jackson’s “This Is It” show director Kenny Ortega suggests that Dr. Conrad Murray might have been pressured into forcing an exhausted Jackson into performing over fear of losing his $150,000-a-month job as Jackson’s personal physician, according to CNN. Jackson died June 25, 2009, just two weeks before the scheduled start of his 50-date comeback concerts at the AEG-owned O2 Arena in London.

Addressing concerns that Jackson had missed rehearsal, Gongaware’s email read: “We want to remind [Murray] that it is AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary. We want to remind him what is expected of him.” Jackson lawyers are arguing that the email is evidence of AEG’s involvement in the singer’s sudden death.

Jackson’s children Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket, along with their grandmother Katherine, claim that AEG Live’s pressure on Murray led to an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol, which the doctor had used to help the pop icon rest for his rehearsals. (Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in November 2011 and is serving his four-year prison sentence.) The new trial is set to begin next month and includes Jackson’s eldest son Prince, 16, and Murray -- who did not testify at his own trial -- on the witness list.

"Now that the court has ruled that there is evidence that it was foreseeable that AEG's actions resulted in Michael Jackson's death, the Jackson family feels vindicated from the public smear campaign that AEG has waged against them," CNN quotes Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle. "The truth about what happened to Michael, which AEG has tried to keep hidden from the public since the day Michael died, is finally emerging. We look forward to the trial where the rest of the story will come to light."

And while AEG Live claims to have no liability in Jackson’s death because Murray was not its employee, Jackson lawyers point to another email as evidence that Phillips was directly involved with pushing Murray to get Jackson to his rehearsals. A correspondence sent by AEG Live tour accountant Timm Woolley to an insurance broker two days before Jackson’s death read, “Randy Phillips and Dr. Murray are responsible for MJ rehearsal and attendance schedule.”

Read More... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dr-conrad-murray-allegedly-pressured-425967

TJ Jackson He Needs Cash To Care for Michael's Kids

TJ Jackson cannot continue to serve as a surrogate parent to Michael Jackson's 3 kids without getting some compensation, so the Executors of MJ's Estate are asking the judge to give TJ a reasonable amount of money to keep the ship afloat.

The Executors filed legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- in which they say TJ has been extremely devoted to Paris, Prince and Blanket since MJ's death.  TJ -- who is now a co-guardian along with Katherine Jackson -- spends 40 hours a week caring for the 3 kids.

The Executors say it's been a hardship for TJ -- who is married with 3 kids of his own.  Although he's been a co-guardian since July, he hasn't received a single penny for his services.

The Executors are asking the judge to allow them to pay TJ $9,000 a month, retroactive to July.  They add, the way it's going now, TJ may not be able to continue, so compensation is essential.

Read more... http://www.tmz.com/2013/02/06/tj-jackson-money-michael-jackson-estate-executors-kids-paris-prince-blanket/#ixzz2K9asReAK