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THQ Prevails In JAKKS Dispute News
Chris Leyton
04/03/2008
A California Court of Appeals throws out JAKKS Pacific's petition over the WWE royalty rate dispute...
The continuing dispute between THQ and JAKKS Pacific surrounding the royalty rate paid for the WWE brand took a further twist today of latex clad, sweat pouring proportions.
Following numerous delays by the toy and merchandising giant, THQ's petition to the California Superior Court to appoint an arbitrator to solve the dispute came at the irk of JAKKS Pacific who petitioned the California Court of Appeals to disqualify all but one of the potential arbitrators considered by the judge. Today, the California Courts of Appeals has denied JAKKS Pacific's petition to allow the arbitration to move forwards.
"Contrary to JAKKS Pacific's statements that the arbitration process has been slowed for 'a host of reasons,' the sole cause of delay has been JAKKS," said James M. Kennedy, THQ's executive vice president, business and legal affairs.
"We believed JAKKS's position in its petition from the judge's appointment of an arbitrator was wrong, and the Court of Appeals has now agreed. As we have stated since we filed suit to compel arbitration and appoint an arbitrator, we look forward to moving the arbitration process forward expeditiously, and we expect to prevail once an arbitrator has the opportunity to consider the facts in this matter."
THQ has also responded defiantly to claims issued by JAKKS Pacific during its last financial conference call that sales of WWE games will drop by 20% during the 2008 financial period. Maintaining that it doesn't share these views, THQ points to the fact that JAKKS Pacific have no active role in the joint venture operation and as such the statements are not based on any active involvement in the operations of the joint venture.
"The WWE is a tremendous brand and we have consistently grown this franchise in the video game space on a global basis, with life-to-date sales of more than $1 billion," said Brian Farrell, THQ president and CEO. "We are excited about the continuing potential of this brand."
