Lawsuit accuses Fox News of absorb infringement

LOS ANGELES – A above adviser to Michael Jackson sued Fox Account on Thursday for absorb infringement, claiming the cable approach aired portions of an account with the singer's ex-wife afterwards able acquittal or permission.

The accusation in federal cloister by ambassador F. Marc Schaffel seeks amercement from Fox Account for airing portions of the 2003 account with Debbie Rowe afterwards Jackson's afterlife in June. The filing states the account fabricated up a cogent bulk of Geraldo Rivera's July 5 show.

Schaffel, who already sued Jackson and won a acumen adjoin him, owns the absorb to the Rowe interview. Portions of the account were aired on the Fox arrangement in 2003 as allotment of a appropriate advised to antithesis out a damaging account aired beforehand that year.

A agent for Fox News, which is endemic by Rupert Murdoch's Account Corp., said the approach does not animadversion on awaiting litigation. The accusation states Fox Account has claimed a "fair use" appropriate to air the footage as allotment of account programming.

The filing chides Murdoch, who has threatened to sue the British Broadcasting Corp. and others for absorb contravention because he claims they are burglary agreeable from his company's newspapers.

"Fox sanctimoniously operates unencumbered by the actual absorb restrictions it seeks to appoint on its competitors," the accusation states.

Schaffel owns the absorb to two tapes absolute the 2003 account with Rowe, according to absorb records. Portions of the account were allotment of a appropriate titled, "Take Two: The Footage You Were Never Meant to See." It aired on Fox afterwards ABC aired an account with Jackson by Martin Bashir in which the accompanist batten about acceptance accouchement to beddy-bye in his bed at Neverland Ranch but that the convenance was non-sexual.

Schaffel won a breach acumen adjoin Jackson in 2006 afterwards suing over assignment that included bearing footage for the 2003 Fox special. A board awarded Schaffel $900,000, but additionally awarded the pop accompanist $200,000 as allotment of a countersuit.