WWE WINS LAWSUIT BROUGHT AGAINST THEM OVER RIGHTS TO WRESTLER'S NAME
MikeM
by Mike Johnson @ 10:29 AM on 7/7/2008
World Wrestling Entertainment successfully defended itself in a
lawsuit brought against the company over the rights to the ring name
of former WWE star Gangrel by CCP hf and CCP North America when the
case was dismissed by Judge Marvin H. Shoob on 6/30.
CCP had claimed that WWE, which licensed the right to the name of the
character used in a role-playing game that pre-existed David Heath
being hired by WWE through 2003, continued to use the name without
permission or payment in Heath's subsequent appearances.
In a ruling issued by Shoob, it was decreed that CCP could not prove
they had been actively utilizing the trademark nor that their Vampire-
based games including their Gangrel character, so they were unable to
sue for infringement. Their claim that they use and continue to use
the Gangrel name was ruled "insufficient to allege trademark rights."
The Judge also shot down the claim that WWE using the Gangrel
character (which appeared mostly in one-shot appearances or WWE
developmental events in recent years) without proper credit, they were
misrepresenting the ownership of the character and/or implying its
programming is affiliated with CCP. The Judge also dismissed that
claim.
From reading the ruling, it appears the court would be open to CCP
pursuing a copyright issue over the use of the character but the way
trademark law is written, CCP couldn't prove their case and when WWE
filed a motion to dismiss based on that issue, the Judge sided with
WWE.