USPTO Fast Tracks Michael Jackson Patent Tribute

from the a-true-sense-of-urgency dept

theodp writes "They may drag their feet on things like the three-and-a-half-year-old Amazon 1-Click Patent Reexam, but the USPTO can put on their fast-shoes when they want to. For evidence of the agency's sense of urgency, just look at how quickly they put together an Exhibit of Michael Jackson's Patent and Trademarks. If you can't make it out to the USPTO Museum (and store) by Labor Day, you can check out Michael's expired-due-to-nonpayment-of-fees patent for a Method and Means for Creating Anti-Gravity Illusion online, and also see it in action in the video for Smooth Criminal (@7:16). BTW, Jackson's co-inventors also designed Michael's suit for his L.A. funeral."

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Dance Reality Show Barred From Doing A Michael Jackson Tribute

from the pay-up-to-honor-MJ dept

Krharrison alerts us to the news that the popular reality TV competition show "So You Think You Can Dance" was barred from doing a planned tribute to Michael Jackson on its most recent show because someone (exactly who isn't clear) refused to give permission. What a great society we live in when you need permission to do a tribute to someone's music.

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Michael Jackson and Rihanna Both Get Sued Over a 1972 Tune

from the ma-ma-se,-ma-ma-sa,-ma-ma-sue dept

At 75, an artist may be too old to write a new hit single, but that doesn't make them too old to sue someone famous with a new hit single for a large sum of money over 10 syllables from a 37-year-old song. Cameroonian artist, Manu Dibango, is suing both Michael Jackson and Rihanna for copyright infringement over his 1972 hit, Soul Makossa. The complicating factor is that Jackson was already sued decades ago for infringing the tune in his 1983 single, Wanna Be Startin' Something, and he had settled with Dibango, but now he's under fire again for allegedly licensing the infringing bit to Rihanna for her 2007 hit, Please Don't Stop the Music, without contacting Dibango to get permission. According to Wikipedia, Soul Makossa features a Duala chant, "Mama-ko, mama-sa, ma-ka-ma-ko-ssa," while a similar sounding Swahili chant, "Ma Ma Se, Ma Ma Sa, Ma Ma Coo Sa," appears in both Jackson's and Rihanna's song. Dibango is demanding €500,000, and that the courts block the labels from receiving any money from the allegedly infringing tunes until the matter is resolved.

Dibango has a history of making great music, but more recently, he served as President of the Cameroon Music Corporation, where he was known for defending intellectual property rights and fighting piracy. It's a real shame that you need to hire a law firm to make use of a catchy phrase from another song, but I guess that's what happens when everyone is focused on "protecting" their rights, rather than on making music.

Blaise Alleyne is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Blaise Alleyne and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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