Joe Jackson's plans to launch Michael Jackson tribute fragrances have been thrown into jeopardy after he was hit with a lawsuit disputing his rights to sell the scents.
The 82 year old and his perfumier business partner Franck Rouas have hit a stumbling block after they were called "unlicensed distributors" in a lawsuit from executives at Bravado, a firm which retains the commercial rights to sell products under the Thriller icon's name.
In the complaint, filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday (08Jun11), Bravado bosses asked a judge to ban the sale of Jackson Tribute for men and Jackson Legend for women. They are also seeking $150,000 (£93,750) in damages.
Tension between Jackson and Rouas was apparent a day later (09Jun11) when they showed up at a Las Vegas press conference, where they were due to debut the perfumes, but refused to speak.
Jackson told reporters he wanted to avoid Rouas and that there was no scheduled release date for the bottles.
Speaking about the French fragrance entrepreneur, Jackson told the Afp, "I don't like the way he does things. But the initiative to create the scents was mine, and that plan goes ahead."
The Jackson patriarch also defended his right to sell the fragrances, insisting, "I am the father, he was my son and I can decide what to do on his behalf and in his honour... There are many interests around the legacy of my son, companies that want everything, but I have a foundation that allows me to launch projects with his name, the name of my son."