JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) announced that it has notified World
Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ("WWE”) that the joint venture between THQ
and JAKKS intended to exercise its option to renew the WWE videogame
license, which would otherwise expire on December 31, 2009, for an
additional five (5) year term ending December 31, 2014. Separately, THQ
commenced a lawsuit in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County,
claiming it was not ready to make a decision with respect to renewal of
the WWE videogame license, and seeking a declaratory judgment that (i)
JAKKS was not authorized under the parties’ joint venture agreement to
unilaterally issue a renewal notice to WWE, (ii) THQ has no obligation
to consent to a renewal of the WWE license, and (iii) the restrictive
covenant in the joint venture agreement prohibiting THQ from publishing
any videogames based on wrestling during the term of the joint venture
agreement (expiring one year after termination of the WWE license) is
unenforceable under California law. JAKKS and THQ have also initiated
arbitration proceedings relating to these issues.
About JAKKS Pacific, Inc.
JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) is a leading designer and marketer of
toys and consumer products, with a wide range of products that feature
some of the most popular children’s toy licenses in the world. JAKKS’
diverse portfolio includes Action Figures, Art Activity Kits,
Stationery, Writing Instruments, Performance Kites, Water Toys, Sports
Activity Toys, Vehicles, Infant/Pre-School, Plush, Construction Toys,
Electronics, Dolls, Dress-Up, Role Play, and Pet Toys and Accessories,
sold under various proprietary brands including JAKKS Pacific®, Play
Along®, Flying Colors®, Creative Designs International™, Road Champs®,
Child Guidance®, Pentech®, Funnoodle®, Go Fly a Kite®, Color Workshop®,
JAKKS Pets™, EyeClops®, Plug It In & Play TV Games™, Girl Gourmet™, Kids
Only®, Tollytots® and Disguise. JAKKS is an award-winning licensee of
several hundred nationally and internationally known trademarks
including Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., World Wrestling
Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Graco and Cabbage Patch
Kids. JAKKS and THQ Inc. participate in a Joint Venture that has
worldwide rights to publish and market World Wrestling Entertainment
video games. For further information, visit www.jakks.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements (within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that
are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about JAKKS
Pacific’s business based partly on assumptions made by its management.
These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.
Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what
is expressed or forecasted in such statements due to numerous factors,
including, but not limited to, those described above, changes in demand
for JAKKS’ products, product mix, the timing of customer orders and
deliveries, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and
difficulties with integrating acquired businesses. The forward-looking
statements contained herein speak only as of the date on which they are
made, and JAKKS undertakes no obligation to update any of them to
reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.