POP/ROCK - April 24, 1989

“Beat it,” was singer Michael Jackson’s message to a company attempting to sell what he claims are bootleg Beatles videotapes. Jackson, who owns the copyrights to most Beatles songs, sued Video Wholesalers of Neptune, N.J., over the sale of the videos, which include tapes of the Fab Four in concert at New York’s Shea Stadium and in Washington. Jackson obtained a federal court order barring the company from selling the videotapes. U.S. District Judge Garrett E. Brown in Trenton, N.J., on Friday issued a preliminary injunction against sale of the videos pending the outcome of the lawsuit. Jackson’s attorneys argued that the tapes infringed on the copyrights, that Beatles fans would be turned off by their poor quality and that the films would hurt Jackson’s investment should he decide to market the tapes himself. The video company argued that the Beatles never protected the films with a copyright and that the Fab Four songs on the videos are in the public domain.