Michael Jackson hologram to appear at Billboard Awards

A hologram of Michael Jackson has been confirmed to appear at this year's Billboard Awards, despite a legal challenge to prevent the performance.

The awards show, which takes place in Las Vegas on Sunday, 18 May 2014, will see the Jackson hologram performing live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and producers have touted the show as a 'history-making performance'. The show was under threat, however, after Hologram USA Inc. and Musion Das Hologram Ltd took legal action against the performance, saying claiming it would violate their own hologram patents. The companies were previously responsible for the iconic Tupac hologram, the first to be seen.

Now, however, it has been revealed that the show will go ahead, with Howard Weitzman, attorney saying that attempting to stop the performance was 'ludicrous'.

"The court's decision is not surprising," he wrote in an email, quotes Fox News "The request to stop this extraordinary Michael Jackson event was ludicrous."

The Michael Jackson hologram will now perform 'Slave To The Rhythm', a 'new' track taken from the recently released collection of previously unheard tracks, Xscape. The legal action is set to continue however, with the plaintiff's attorney Ryan G. Baker stating that Hologram USA Inc. and Musion Das Hologram Ltd would continues in their legal attempts.

"It's only the very beginning of a case that will continue to be prosecuted by my clients, and ultimately they are confident that they will prevail and will recover all available damages for the defendants' infringing conduct," he told the press.