George Gleeson, taking a page from the case of Three Boys Music v Bolton (9th Cir, 2000), claimed that the statute of limitations (3 years) must be tolled for his case as he was unaware of his right to pursue his copyright claim. Gleeson claims to have been the author of the popular dance step ‘moonwalk’ and that Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones stole those specific choreography steps from him..

George Gleeson filed hand written, ‘pro per’ pleading in August of 2005; and documented that he contacted federal officials in 1984 and 1985 about the copyright infringement allegations.

The federal court in Fargo, North Dakota issued summary judgement on behalf of defendants holding the $75 million dollar claim to be time barred:

“Gleeson should have commenced a civil action within three years of when he first contacted the federal officials and became aware of his right to pursue the claim. ”

George Gleeson v. Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. No. 1:05-cv-088, D. N.D.; 2006 U.S. Dist Lexis 8125.

This entry was posted by Kate Spelman on Sunday, April 23rd, 2006 at 6:04 am and is filed under Copyrights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.