THQ Has Its Day in Court

THQ has won a legal case brought against it by Jakks Pacific, regarding the use of the WWE license in games. The case dates back to 2006 and has involved a lot of delays, which THQ mainly attributes to Jakks Pacific.

Initially, the two companies had formed a joint venture operation regarding the publishing of video games based on the very popular WWE wrestling series. THQ was to take charge of the development and the publishing of the game, while Jakks Pacific would supply the rights to use names and other intellectual property associated with the WWE. A dispute over the amount of royalties Jakks was to receive led to delays in the licensing agreement and in the production of the game. THQ was behind schedule and risked losing money, so they moved to court arbitration to settle the issue of fees and licensing. In a classic legal delaying action, Jakks filed a motion to disqualify most of the arbitration judges and delay a ruling for as long as possible.

James Kennedy, who is representing THQ in matter of legal affairs, declared that: "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. 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."

Now, the delaying tactics have been disqualified by a court and that means negotiation between Jakks and THQ will continue on the issue of the licensing fees. The WWE franchise is worth more than 1 billion in sales for THQ and they sure are keen on keeping their licenses viable and their licensing fees down.