NEW YORK — Long sharing the common goal of protecting the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King, the bond between the family of the slain civil rights leader and one of his former top aides, Andrew Young, has become threatened.

At issue is a lawsuit initiated by King’s sons. The points of legal contention are who has the rights to King’s words and image, and how far do those rights extend. Young is facing the sons’ ire over footage of King that shows up in a series produced by Young’s foundation. Another of King’s contemporaries also has legal issues with his children — actor Harry Belafonte, in a separate case, is debating ownership of some King documents.

“The question is whose legacy is it? And I agree that it’s their legacy, and that the copyright images of their father need to be protected by them, but I also feel that I’m doing the same thing for nothing and I will not give up my right to the legacy for their right to the legacy,” Young said recently in an interview with The Associated Press.

At the heart of the conflict is the lawsuit filed by King’s sons, Martin Luther King III and Dexter King, who as chairman and president/CEO control their father’s estate including his image and his papers, against The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, which is run by King’s daughter, Bernice, and where Young is a member of the board.

The estate’s suit asks that the center be stopped from using King’s image and likeness unless certain conditions are met. Among those conditions is that Young be removed from the center’s board of directors over allegations that he used footage of King in a documentary without permission.

The lawsuit was filed Aug. 28, the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington where King made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.