Paul Anka: 'This Is Mine'

By Eriq Gardner

These days, anybody with an iPhone who is dying to know the name of some mysterious song on the radio can open up an app called Shazam to identify the track.

Maybe that's what the executors of Michael Jackson's estate should have done before releasing the posthumous single, "This Is It."

Had they done so, they would have realized that the song was co-written by Paul Anka and was recorded by an R&B singer named Safire for a track released in 1991 called "I Never Heard."

Evidently, in the rush to capitalize on Jackson after his death, the estate failed to do its due diligence.

Anka says he was not contacted about the use of the song, nor given proper writing credit, and he and his lawyers are promising that "they will be sued if they don't correct it."

John McClain, a record executive who is one of the executors of the estate, called Anka to acknowledge his co-authorship and promise "all due credit and royalties."

Quick negotiation between the lawyers may stave off a potential lawsuit, but identifying a copyright target: There's an app for that.

Michael Jackson estate goes after 'Heal the World' charity

By Eriq Gardner

As the administrators of Michael Jackson's estate and the late singer's family continue to squabble over assets, hopefully all parties can at least agree that there's no place for a purported charity that allegedly tricks Michael Jackson fans into giving it money.

John Branca and John McClain, administrators of the estate, have filed a lawsuit in California district court against the Heal the World Foundation, a company formed the day Michael Jackson died to carry on the work of Jackson's Foundation.

According to the complaint, two days after Jackson's death, HTWF president Melinda Johnson posted a message on the Internet that said, "It is unclear if the Jackson Family will want to continue his charity work and humanitarian legacy and in what matter. The staff at HTWF only ask that the public be patient with us and allow the family time to grieve as we wait for the direction they would have us go..."

After the posting, fans debated the legitimacy of HTWF but some confirmed it had donated money. Jackson once wrote a hit song called "Heal the World," registered the trademark, and donated a lot of money to charity, but the plaintiffs say HTWF has no connection with the Jackson family at all. Suing for trademark infringement, unfair competition, cybersquatting, and violation of publicity rights, Branca and McClain ask for a permanent restraining order.

Battle still rages over Michael Jackson's estate

By Eriq Gardner

The fallout from Michael Jackson's death continues today in Los Angeles Superior Court as a judge considers Katherine Jackson's request to become "Guardian of the Estate" of her late son. 

THR's Roger Friedman posted some of the details of Katherine Jackson's request last week, including her desire to get hands on Michael Jackson's contract with AEG Live.

Katherine Jackson had previously asked Judge Mitchell Beckloff to appoint a special administrator for the estate, before attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain showed up with a copy of Michael Jackson's will appointing them authorities. Now the mother wants the judge to order Branca and McClain to answer questions under oath and determine whether they are "fit and able" to administer the estate. She's apparently peeved at not being included in dealmaking on Michael Jackson's assets, saying in her filing that the two executors are "intent on keeping her in the dark."

Her request may be a shot in that dark, but perhaps Judge Beckloff will attempt to broker some cooperation between the parties. We'll post an update here after a decision has been made.

Michael Jackson estate in Branca and McClain's hands....for now

By Eriq Gardner

Congrats to John Branca and John McClain for bringing some semblance of stability to the Michael Jackson legal circus. This morning, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff granted them temporary control over Jackson estate.

Confusion reigned last week after Jackson's mother Katherine made a request to appoint a special administrator to the estate. Branca then surfaced with a will drawn up by Michael Jackson in 2002 that laid out specific executors. 

"Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain for the next month are at the helm of the ship," Beckloff told the court today.

Katherine Jackson was not present in court but Branca was in attendance. The judge seems sensitive to any emerging dispute between the parties. He told Branca he needed to share information about the estate and any transactions made with Katherine.

We'll see if that's enough for Jackson's mother. 

In a statement, John Schreiber, an attorney for Katherine Jackson, said, "Frankly, Mrs. Jackson has concerns about handing over the keys to the kingdom."

Michael Jackson legal battle shifts to the will

By Eriq Gardner

Another day, another round of Michael Jackson legal news.

Yesterday, we reported about the inevitable filing of the late singer's last will and testament. Nothing too shocking was contained the will (beyond a Diana Ross cameo), but the rather vague document has kicked off its own legal battle.

In Los Angeles Superior Court, lawyer John Branca and music executive John McClain filed a motion to vacate Judge Mitchell Beckloff's Monday decision to appoint Jackson's mother, Katherine, as "special administrator" over the estate. Katherine Jackson made the request on Monday, but Branca and McClain now argue that the will supercedes the mother's claimed control.

In response, Judge Beckloff has urged the parties to get together and resolve the situation. "I would like the family to sit down and try to make this work so that we don't have a difficult time in court," he said.

In a statement, Branca and McClain said, "The most important element of Michael's will is his unwavering desire that his mother, Katherine, become the legal guardian for his three children. As we work to carry out Michael's instructions to safeguard both the future of his children as well as the remarkable legacy he left us as an artist we ask that all matters involving his estate be handled with the dignity and the respect that Michael and his family deserve."

Time will tell whether this situation evolves beyond a dispute of dignity to something more ugly. The estates of well-known entertainers with lots of intellectual property at stake tend to invite massive, ugly litigation, as we saw after James Brown passed away.

This time, there's a lot at stake. For instance, Lewis Stark, head of the royalty and contract compliance group at the NYC accounting firm Eisner LLP, claims he spoke to Michael Jackson himself a month ago, and based on his conversation, he believes there will be significant revenue to come, including the release of more than 200 songs from the King of Pop.

Read Michael Jackson's will

By Eriq Gardner

At long last, here's a copy of Michael Jackson's will.

The will is dated July 7, 2002 and gives his entire estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust. Contrary to earlier news reports, the will doesn't explicitly cut his father out of the estate — only his former wife Deborah Rowe.

The five-page document is rather vague on many details, which may spark future battles and increase the power of the named executors —  attorney John Branca, music exec John McClain and accountant Barry Siegel (although reports say Siegel resigned as an executor). The executors have been given power to sell assets of the estate and invest money from the estate, perhaps significant given the value of the singer's intellectual property.

Finally, Jackson gave his mother guardianship of his three children. Interestingly, his back-up plan for his children in case his mother didn't survive him was singer Diana Ross.

John Branca finally talks about Michael Jackson: 'It'll all be clear within 48 hours'

By Eriq Gardner

Yesterday, TMZ reported that music attorney John Branca of the Ziffren Brittenham firm was re-hired by Michael Jackson three weeks ago and that he has a copy of the late singer's will. But court papers filed yesterday by Michael Jackson's mother say the family hasn't been able to locate any will.

So who's right? We spoke to Branca today, and from his first interview on the subject we can confirm that Branca has been appointed as co-executor of the Jackson estate and that an announcement about the will is forthcoming.

Branca called us today in connection with our annual Power Lawyers issue (spoiler alert: Branca's on the list), and we got to talking about his involvement in the Michael Jackson situation. Branca says he was re-hired by Michael himself two weeks ago in preparation for the singer's planned comeback tour. The two go way back, having worked together during Michael's heyday in the 80's and 90's. Branca is often credited with negotiating for Jackson one of the most lucrative recording contracts in history and advising him to purchase the Beatles music publishing catalog. Jackson was even the best man at Branca's first wedding, but they parted ways a few years ago.

So what did he and Michael talk about? "We discussed how to exploit his valuable brand and the upcoming concert," says Branca.

Branca was as shocked as anyone to hear the news last week that Michael had been rushed to the hospital. Now, as co-executor of the estate, Branca will be handling the music publishing agreements that will earn the estate significant revenues over the coming years. This is the lawyer's specialty. Last year, for example, Branca represented the Rodgers & Hammerstein Org in a $250 million sale of the rights to hit broadway musicals.

When asked about the will, Branca let this tidbit fly:

"The will hasn't been filed yet," he said.

Would Branca confirm the existence of the much talked-about Michael Jackson will? THR's Roger Friedman has been reporting for days that Jackson drafted a will in 2002, dividing his estate among his mother, three children, and charities (but not his father), and that the will should be filed in Los Angeles Superior Court as soon as Thursday.

"It'll all be clear within 48 hours," he responded. "Much more will be revealed soon." 

Read Michael Jackson's mother's court petition

By Matthew Belloni

Michael Jackson's mother Katherine filed court documents today in an attempt to safegaurd her late son's assets, including Jackson's stake in the lucrative Sony-ATV music publishing catalog (which includes Beatles songs).

Here's the petition, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by attorney Burt Levitch at Rosenfeld Meyer & Susman.

Katherine Jackson, who has already won temporary custody of Michael's three children, is asking that a special administrator be immediately appointed to oversee the late singer's trust because certain bank accounts are controlled by unspecified third parties who might mishandle funds.

The court papers also ask that the administrator be given control over "certain tangible physical property currently in the physical possession of a third party," and that at least one person is improperly claiming to have a power of attorney to act on Jackson's behalf (power of attorney ends at death).

The court papers also say the family hasn't been able to locate a will. That contradicts a TMZ report claiming that former Jackson attorney John Branca of the Ziffren Brittenham firm (who was apparently re-hired by Jackson only weeks ago, according to the website) is in possession of a will. But if so, the family hasn't seen it.

Katherine Jackson says because Michael died without a wife or adult children, the family is now empowered to take control of the estate.

Graphing Michael Jackson's lawyers

By Eriq Gardner

Bitter Lawyer has a neat post up that summarizes Michael Jackson's greatest legal hits by pointing out the army of attorneys who have kept the King of Pop out of trouble—and in some cases, out of prison.

The post has some interesting tidbits, like Jackson performing Best Man duties at John Branca's first wedding and Bob Sanger talking to Jackson about psychology, Freud and Jung, Hawthorne, sociology, black history and sociology dealing with race issues.

We took the pleasure of using Bitter Lawyer's list to create a visualization of the many degrees of Michael Jackson's legal connections:

Can Concert Promoter Recoup Michael Jackson Investment?

By Eriq Gardner

What's next for AEG Live, the concert promotion company that is facing the prospect of refunding more than $85 million on 750,000 ticket sales for Michael Jackson's planned comeback tour that will never happen?

Mary Craig Calkins, an insurance lawyer at Howrey LLP, tells us that AEG's insurance carrier will eagerly await the results of the late singer's toxicology report from the autopsy. Most "key man" insurance policies cover accidental death, so the insurers will want to know if there were any drugs or foul play involved that would indicate something else.

California has statutes that prevent insurers from covering intentional, willful acts. In addition, if there were drugs involved, the insurance company will closely scrutinize what was previously disclosed on the insurance forms about Jackson's condition.

Most insurers eventually pay out, says Calkins, but she says "It's not unusual to have negotiations (between the broker and the insurance company) over even less a megastar than Michael Jackson."

The lawyer points to insurance difficulties in the aftermath of deaths to actors including Heath Ledger, Brandon Lee, John Candy, and John Ritter. 

Someone is going to be on the hook for a huge loss. But maybe not quite as much as news reports suggest. Calkins believes that not all purchasers of Jackson concert tickets will request an actual refund, preferring to hold onto their tickets as memorabilia items.

That gives us an idea. 

Considering the huge amount of interest in Michael Jackson, and the extensive preparations already made for the Jackson concert series, maybe AEG should consider staging a series of "tribute" concerts this summer, featuring many Jackson musical acolytes, with profits going to starving children in Africa. We Are The World, part two?