The estate of Michael Jackson claims that this advertisement, shown on the Tropicana marquee, uses trademarks that it owns. (Image: Jalles Franca\/Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThis week, the tribute show\u2019s attorneys filed a complaint in Nevada federal court, asking a judge to be allowed to continue staging the production, which runs six nights a week at the Tropicana.<\/p>\n
According to court records, the Jackson estate claims the show uses Jackson\u2019s likeness without permission, in addition to trademarks owned by the estate in its ads.<\/p>\n
However, the production’s Tropicana show is not the issue. Under Nevada law, likenesses of celebrities are permitted to be used by \u201cimpersonators in live performances.\u201d The Jackson estate only seeks to stop the show’s current plans to tour California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
As for the ads, attorneys for the the show’s producer claim the artwork they use to sell tickets is distinct and causes no confusion for the public.<\/p>\nJalles Franca stars as the late king of pop — alternately, with impersonator Santana Jackson — in \u201cMJ Live.\u201d (Image: Jalles Franca\/Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWho’s<\/em>\u00a0 Bad?<\/h2>\nAttorneys for the show\u2019s producers note that the show has been performed more than 3,600 times since 2012, most recently at the Strat before the Tropicana. Yet the estate has only recently began sending cease-and-desist orders.<\/p>\n
By using the \u201cMJ Live\u201d name for so long, producers claim, the show has developed its own <\/em>claims to it, and, in fact, it\u2019s actually the Michael Jackson estate<\/em> that\u2019s infringing on their <\/em>intellectual property by currently touring a stage show called \u201cMJ The Musical\u201d across the U.S.<\/p>\n\u201cOver the past eleven and one-half years \u2026 plaintiff has spent millions of dollars advertising and promoting its MJ Live show,\u201d “MJ Live\u2019s” lawyers write. \u201cPlaintiff estimates that over 2,500,000 audience members, clapping and singing in their seats, jumping to their feet, and dancing in the aisles, have experienced the joy, excitement, and thrill of \u2018MJ Live.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan Steinsapir, an attorney for the Jackson estate, sent Casino.org<\/em> the following rebuttal:<\/p>\n\u201cThis lawsuit — including the claim that this impersonator show somehow owns a \u2018trademark\u2019 in \u2018MJ,\u2019 a trademark owned by Michael Jackson\u2019s Estate and long associated with Michael and his Estate — is beyond frivolous. The Estate, as always, will vigorously defend all intellectual property rights of Michael Jackson.\u201d<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the first time the estate of an iconic singer has tried to crack down on Vegas impersonators. In May 2022, Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which owns Elvis\u2019 likeness, send cease-and-desists to multiple chapels, demanding that their Elvis impersonators be licensed by ABG to \u201csafeguard\u201d Presley\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n
No lawsuit was ever filed, because a month later, several chapels agreed to pay an undisclosed annual licensing fee that is believed to be smaller than what ABG initially demanded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The estate of Michael Jackson is threatening to shut down plans for a long-running Las Vegas tribute show to hit the road. But the producers of \u201cMJ Live\u201d at the Tropicana think they can beat it. This week, the tribute show\u2019s attorneys filed a complaint in Nevada federal court, asking a judge to be allowed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":307303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3313,81886,60],"tags":[81937,89551,23,82012,88509,89550,89552,84822],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Michael Jackson Estate Tries to Shut Down Vegas Casino's Tribute Show - Casino.org<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n