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$30 million fight: Muhammad Ali estate versus Fox

Posted On: Oct. 11, 2017 12:28 PM CST

$30 million fight: Muhammad Ali estate versus Fox

Muhammad Ali Enterprises is suing Fox Broadcasting Co. over the entertainment firm using images of the late boxer in a video that aired just before the Super Bowl in February. 

In the $30 million lawsuit filed in Chicago on Tuesday, Muhammad Ali Enterprises, which owns the trademark rights, copyrights, the right of publicity and all other intellectual property rights of the boxing legend, claims that Fox used Ali's "name, image and likeness as the centerpiece of its three-minute promotional video.” The video aired before Fox’s broadcast of the game that attracted a national audience of 111 million viewers, the Associated Press reported.

"Fox obtained great value by using Muhammad Ali to promote itself," attorney Frederick J. Sperling, who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement provided to the Associated Press. "It should pay for what it took."

The lawsuit also states that the video "falsely implies" that Ali or Muhammad Ali Enterprises had endorsed Fox.

Fox has not commented on the lawsuit.