** FILE ** In this March 5, 2009 file photo US singer Michael Jackson announces that he is set to play ten live concerts at the London O2 Arena in July, which he announced at a press conference at the London O2 Arena. A federal judge ruled in favor of Jackson’s estate Friday Aug. 10, 2012 that a businessman who operated a website using the likeness and some of the singer’s works had infringed copyrights and should be blocked from future usage of the material. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)
August 10, 2012 - 3:06 PM
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - A federal judge has ruled that a website and businessman working with Michael Jackson's mother has violated some of the singer's copyrights and should be blocked from future uses of the works.
U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson sided with the singer's estate in a ruling Friday against Howard Mann and the website www.michaeljacksonsecretvault.com
The estate sued Mann in January 2011, claiming he was violating copyrights and posed unfair competition to Jackson's estate. Pregerson ruled that the website improperly used art from the film "This Is It," a logo featuring Jackson and the song "Destiny," as well as other material.
A phone message for Mann's attorney was not immediately returned Friday. Mann has collaborated with Katherine Jackson, who is a beneficiary of the singer's estate.
The ruling does not address damages.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012