A Michael Jackson tribute act sued the co-executors of the Michael Jackson estate on Wednesday in Nevada federal court, asking for an order declaring that the act’s Las Vegas show and logo does not infringe the estate’s trademarks.
MJL 12 LLC, the company behind the tribute show “MJ Live,” said Jackson’s estate wrongly accused MJL 12 of violating intellectual property rights by using Jackson’s likeness. The co-executors have sent out cease-and-desist letters demanding that venues cancel upcoming shows where the tribute act is set to perform despite “over 3,600 MJ Live shows throughout the United States since 2012,” according to the complaint.
MJL 12 seeks a declaratory judgment of non-infringement under the Lanham Act and rights of publicity. The tribute act also alleges common law trademark infringement, unfair competition and an order canceling the registration of a trademarked logo used to promote a rival production, the Tony Award-winning 2021 Broadway musical “MJ The Musical,” which the rights holders produce.
MJL 12 was created in 2012 to set up a stage show paying homage to Michael Jackson “in a manner that gives the audience an experience similar to that of seeing the real Michael Jackson in concert,” according to the suit.
The suit asserted that since opening night in Las Vegas, the plaintiff has performed over 3,600 shows in venues across the U.S., with shows in Mexico, Guatemala and Tahiti under the MJ Live trademark.
The plaintiff is currently performing the show at the Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas, with plans to perform “MJ Live” at venues in California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to the suit.
“As a result of plaintiff’s long use of its MJ Live trademark and the millions of dollars plaintiff has spent advertising MJ Live since 2012, consumers located in Nevada, throughout the United States, and even the world, have come to associate Plaintiff’s ‘MJ Live’ trademark with plaintiff and plaintiff’s MJ Live show,” MJL 12 wrote in the suit.
But the co-executors and holders of the late performer’s rights have recently claimed that “MJ Live” infringes on the estate’s rights under the Lanham Act, according to the suit. Additionally, the rights holders claim that the “MJ Live” logo is “confusingly similar to the logo for ‘MJ the Musical,” according to the suit.
The estate secured trademark registration for the logo from the U.S. Trademark Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 28. However, they secured the trademark on fraudulent grounds by falsely representing that they had used the mark since 2010, MJL 12 alleged.
Neither of the defendants had “made a bona fide use in commerce of the MJ mark on or in connection with live entertainment and stage shows as early as October 31, 2010, when the statement of use was filed,” MJL 12 wrote in urging the court to cancel the registration.
The tribute act’s long use of the logo for its “MJ Live” show has also “caused consumers to uniquely associate plaintiff and its trademarks with its MJ Live shows.”
By demanding venues cancel upcoming shows over the trademark dispute, the defendants also unjustifiably intended to harm MJL 12 by interfering with existing contracts, the suit alleged.
“As the direct and proximate result of defendants’ intentional and wrongful interference with plaintiff’s contracts and prospective contracts, plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer actual and irreparable harm and damage to its business, reputation, and goodwill, which may only partially be compensated for by an award of money damages,” MJL 12 wrote.
Counsel and representatives for the parties did not immediately return a request for comment.
MJL 12 is represented by W. West Allen and Jonathan W. Fountain of Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC.
Counsel information for the defendants was not immediately available.
The case is MJL 12 LLC v. MJJ Productions LLC et al., case number 2:24-cv-00122, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
