Michael Jackson Estate Claims Prank Caller Can't Sell Recording Because It Has Jackson's Voice On It
from the is-that-a-copyright-claim? dept
btr1701 points us to a story about Michael Jackson's estate trying to stop the sale of a recording of a prank phone call from prankster Ralphige, supposedly to Michael Jackson. In the call, Ralphige pretended to be Akon. Previously, Michael Jackson (and the estate) had always claimed that Ralphige was not talking to the real Michael Jackson, and that the call was really between two people impersonating two other people. But, now that the Ralphige is selling the tape, the estate is suddenly claiming that it really was Michael, so that they can try to stop the sale of the tape. Of course, that confirms what Ralphige said all along about it being real... As for whether or not the Jackson estate has a legal claim here, I'm guessing they're using a publicity rights claim, but it's questionable as to whether or not that really applies. Since the whole thing is a prank call, no one thinks that MJ "endorsed" the call. It seems like yet another abuse of intellectual property law to try to stop something that may be embarrassing , but not illegal.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: copyright, michael jackson, prank call
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How dare... um... this guy (whom I never heard of) sell this tape (I never heard about until this lawsuit)?!
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Not to seem cold here...
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Re: Not to seem cold here...
Reaganomics 101: the "trickle-down" effect. Michael Jackson made lots of money by successfully making lots of things people wanted to consume, and if we leave that money alone, it will trickle down and benefit everyone from his children to his grandchildren to maybe even his great-great-grand-nieces-and-nephews!
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Re: Re: Not to seem cold here...
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Re: Not to seem cold here...
This insane copyright life span is laughable.
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Jesus, Mike
Just look at how our president, a constitutional scholar and former law professor sworn to uphold the law, has spent his presidency relentlessly prosecuting and depriving of human rights the depraved whistle-blowers who have embarrassed Our Most Holy and Sacred Government, and its constituent Supreme Wealthy Elites. This is precisely what it means to enforce the letter of the law.
I'm always surprised when commentators don't understand the basic facts involved in what they're reporting.
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Audio recording?
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Re: Audio recording?
Was the recording made in California?
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Re: Re: Audio recording?
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Re: Re: Re: Audio recording?
California law doesn't apply outside of California. So, where was the recording made?
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Here we go again...
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Re: Here we go again...
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Re: Here we go again...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1950069/
Where's my "I don't want to live on this planet anymore" Farnsworth image?
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