MJ Estate to Pirates, Bootleggers: Beat It

The King of Pop is dead, but his reign is far from over.

With fans clamoring for everything plastered with Michael Jackson's image, unauthorized souvenirs have flooded the market. And with millions of dollars at stake, his estate is preparing to try to stopt the flood of illegal memorabilia.

This as deal is being finalized to make footage from Jackson's final rehearsals into a major motion picture.

CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports that some people, such as suvenir salesman Jimmy Jam, have been cashing in on Jackson goods.

Jam said Jackson's death has created an underground "gray" market. "As soon as he passed, (fans were) blowing my phone up," he said, referring to the demand for Jackson memorabilia.

But Jackson's estate doesn't see a penny of the profits from illegal items, and neither do Jackson's beneficiaries: his mother and three kids.

That's why attorneys are now trying to get back control of Jackson's image, Tracy reported, by going to court to get approval on a massive merchandising deal.

Howard Weitzman, a Jackson estate attorney said, "There will be a lot that will be done."

Weitzman said cease and desist letters will be sent to people bootlegging or pirating merchandise. That's because, Tracy said, most Jackson items you find in souvenir shops these days are unauthorized, costing his estate millions of dollars in lost revenue.

Attorney Allen Grodsky told CBS News, "You want to scare (the pirates and bootleggers) and recognize, if you're the one who gets sued, you're going to spend money in legal fees, you're going to spend money in damages, and you're going to have a judgment against you."

Many of the authorized items for sale, Tracy reported, were designed by Jackson himself, in anticipation of the "This is It" concerts for the London comeback tour that never happened. Rehearsals were under way when Jackson died.

The administrators of Jackson's estate have also asked the judge to approve new Jackson memorabilia, including screen savers, lighters and stuffed animals that play his music.