ivy;3350089 said:
Let's post all tweets from Joe Vogel
Michael Jackson's Estate has taken back all rights to the Heal the World Foundation
It will be re-activated and directed by John Branca, John McClain and Katherine Jackson
To clarify, I am not in any way speaking FOR the Estate. I am a journalist asking questions and reporting what I learn.
Apparently, any kind of Board would be under the direction of the Estate and hasn't yet been formed
I am told Howard Mann will no longer have any role in the HTWF.
Details still being worked out with Melissa Johnson, but she no longer has any rights to Michael's name or the charity
HTWF will now have a much broader reach and impact. It will be one of several charities that benefits from Michael's Estate
Estate wants to get the Foundation "jump started" again so it can do what MJ intended it to
Okay then, so the information coming from the Estate, thus far, is still good news. Nothing to drive me to drink at this point, altho I know the "Melissa" thing is a sticking point for many. I was going to comment on that but just not in the mood to go there at the moment. And until final dismissal and notice of settlement docs are filed (no details of a confidential settlement will be revealed in these docs so don't hold your breath waiting for more info to be shown in them), Imma keep mum on the "Melissa" issue. Some of you prolly don't wanna hear it anyway so... :better:
LindavG;3350152 said:
That's what I think too.
I
just hope HTW will help a lot of people in need in the future, esp. children. Maybe they could even organize an annual Children's Day, as Michael wished, at Neverland Ranch where ill or disadvantaged children can just have a great time and forget about their worries for a day
That would definitely be nice.
CherubimII;3350192 said:
I agree with your summary. :yes:
I, also, believe now the Heal the World Foundation
will become a charity worthy of Michael Jackson, and one his children and grandchildren can continue into the future.
I, also, hope one day the Heal the World Foundation will be combined in some manner with Neverland for the benefit of children all over the world. :cheeky:
Agree. I think your post was in response to marebare whose quote I forgot to snag for my reply. Agree with her and you.
ivy;3350199 said:
Actually let's do a brain storming, starting by remembering the claims in the actual case and see what happened.
win for estate , they got all the trademarks back
win for estate, they got the trademarks and Melissa Johnson, her companies and Mann cannot use them anymore
win for estate , see above explanation
win for estate, as they took over HTWF and any use of Michael's name image and likeliness will be under their control
win for estate, as they got all the trademarks
win for estate, as they got all the trademarks
domain names aren't reported so we don't know this one
win for estate, as they control the trademarks and Michael's image, name, likeliness
win for estate, as they take over HTWF they can correct any wrong information themselves
Why settle ?
Go again and read the counts did MJ Estate tried to close down the charity? No they didn't. They just tried to get the "Heal the World" name back.
Here we have to remember the preliminary injunction decision of the judge, let's do direct quotes first
"With respect to healtheworld.us, and healtheworldfoundation.net, Plaintiff Triumph is not likely to prove the bad faith element. As Plaintiff concedes, at the time Defendant HTWF registered these sites, Plaintiff’s registration in the “Heal the World” marks had expired due to the popularity of the song. Thus, Defendant HTWF may reasonably have believed that its use of the phrase was fair use. Moreover, Defendant HTWF actually succeeded in registering this mark, which, as Plaintiff elsewhere argues, establishes prima facie evidence of Defendant’s intellectual property rights in that mark. Plaintiff argues that “it is the nature of Defendants’ use of the marks that is problematic"
and
"Notwithstanding the foregoing, Defendants are not enjoined from using the mark HEAL THE WORLD"
In a simplified fashion during the preliminary injunction the judge agreed with everything the Estate asked for except "Heal the World" as it became fair use due to trademark expiring due to popularity of the song.
If at the end of the trial the judge decided same way and let Melissa Johnson to keep the Heal the World name we would have her continuing the charity (without mentioning Michael and selling Michael branded products) in the future (probably with Katherine and MJ's kids). Wouldn't you say the confusion would remain among the general public?
So as you can see the advantage of a settlement for the Estate is making sure that they get "Heal The World" name for sure and control of charity (something they didn't ask for at all). So it's a extra plus for them.
Why would Melissa Johnson settle?
It's just assumptions here (as we don't know the confidential details) but most probably as the Estate is getting the trademarks (and perhaps even the domain names as well) they will most probably reimburse her for the costs of such registrations.
Estate agreeing to keep Heal the World alive could be a motivation as well.
and if she's allowed to be a part of the new charity that's also a plus for her.
So as you can see Estate probably got more than they wanted as they were able to get not only the Trademarks but the future control of HTWF and Johnson is probably better off by possibly getting reimbursed for her expenses and still being a part of the charity.
Excellent summary, Ivy! Trademarks were the most important thing here. The Estate has full control of that AND the charity now. It's a win and a wrap for them.
Maria MJ;3350604 said:
I think they stick to the pattern 'nothing MJ outside the estate' and they establish the precedent more strongly. On the other hand, they had to get J agree to it so they made it look like a mutually beneficial settlement? Could be. IMO she will get her money and be rendered inactive in some other way--maybe exchange her 'position' for something else non-estate related?
Embed the opponent into the scheme, make him useless and get rid of him. That's what it looks like.
I didn't care about Johnson as much as I did for Mann. Glad he will be kicked out of the picture. NO settlements there, hopefully.
Edit to add: Thanks Ivy for dissecting the documents for us and thanks to all for their insight. Clearly there was a gap of communication and understanding which is now bridged.
Good insight. This would be a smooth strategy for the Estate. Working for a non-profit and dealing with Board members, I know just having a seat doesn't mean you get to have your way 100% of the time. When it comes time to vote on decisions, it can be easy for someone to get shut out when majority rules. So just "being" on a board or committee doesn't necessarily bring the desired power with it.
At this point it seems the main people are McClain, Branca and Katherine so
perhaps Melissa's role will be on another level versus equal as the other 3.
Example: The org. I work with has a top level board of directors (Pres., Vice-Pres, etc.) then comes a lower level board of directors, and then there's a third board on a level lower than that. Right now, the Estate may be trying to decide on what level Melissa will fit, IF she's to be included in any way. And yes, she could then be rendered useless and outvoted by other members when her ideas are too "grandiose" and undoable.
As for how this could benefit Mann, well, IF he didn't get anything in this deal, he may be planning to get it via Melissa (kickbacks) if she obtains a salaried position. Same as the Jackson fam most likely will be getting kickbacks or $$ funneled to them via Katherine's salary.
Remember, Katherine's lawyer explicity stated that he wanted to work with the Estate so that Katherine's "people" can "fairly" get access to more money...or something to that effect. Don't think for a sec. that this whole "charity" thing is soley about giving. More than likely it's been worked out so ppl will be GETTING. What Mrs. J does with her salary would be her biz (and possibly the Koreans). I know some fans realize this and don't like it but if it cuts down on fackery it may be a necessary evil, IMHO. For this reason it could be seen as a win for the defendants. They will FINALLY be get access to $$ somehow...some way...someday. At least now some of them will be working WITH the Estate instead of against it. This should cut down on some of the yapping and nipping at the heels of the Estate over...let's see...EVERYTHING???...at least until these folks get outvoted on ideas and whatnot. Then it'll be back to "the Estate is Evil and won't let us do what we wanna do in the way we wanna do it." Whine whine. *starts the clock on that*
For now, it's a win and very VERY quiet. *sigh*
Maybe Randy will indulge everyone with a Twitter rant soon for show.
