Valuing Copyrights and Rights of Publicity - It's not Black or White!

Private Wealth Services attorneys Jaime Herren and Kenny Jefferson will give a presentation on the estate of Michael Jackson for the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law. When Michael Jackson passed away in 2009, his Estate had to identify and value all of his assets. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) took the position that the Estate undervalued those assets by over a billion dollars. An epic tax battle then ensued, ending with the 271-page Tax Court memo 2021-48 filed on May 3, 2021.

This presentation will provide a practical analysis of the steps and missteps taken in valuing Mr. Jackson’s intellectual property assets. It also provides practical considerations that may be useful to any estate holding copyrights of musical compositions, rights of publicity and assets with synergy.